A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official said Wednesday that the agency has 16 cases pending against Boeing, half of which have been opened since a door stopper on a 737 Max was blown off in mid-flight.
The increase in cases was announced Wednesday during a National Transportation Safety Board hearing on the accident that occurred during an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5.
Brian Knaup, who helps the FAA oversee Boeing, said one in every of the open cases involves the removal of parts already installed on planes in production.
This is seemingly the reason for the error that led to the Alaska Airlines accident: screws that were removed to open the door latch for maintenance staff weren’t replaced when the door was closed and the plane left a Boeing factory near Seattle.
Knaup’s comment got here towards the tip of a two-day hearing It also discussed Boeing’s poor tracking of parts removal. The company had not documented who had opened the door stopper, and the missing screws were never found.
Bryan Kilgroe, one other FAA official who represents Boeing, said he cannot sleep at night wondering, “Given everything that has happened since January 5, why is it so difficult to sustain a corrective action over the long term?”
Boeing said it had no comment.
The Safety Council released testimony from Boeing employees who said they were pressured to construct the planes too quickly without raising safety concerns.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy pointed to 2 employees who worked on the aircraft doors used to assemble the Alaska Airlines plane and claimed they were relocated to other areas – a “Boeing prison” and a “cage” – after the door stopper failed.
“What impression does it make on your employees when you ostracize them…? That’s retaliation,” Homendy said. She said attempting to “ostracize” the 2 staff violated Boeing’s policy, which doesn’t allow for punishing staff for unintentional mistakes.
Homendy said the NTSB will query staff at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, plant, where the Alaska Airlines plane was manufactured, concerning the company’s safety culture.
Representatives from Boeing and major supplier Spirit AeroSystems described their “safety management systems” that encourage employees to report safety concerns voluntarily and without fear of retribution. Boeing officials touted their “Speak Up” program for reporting quality and safety concerns.
However, the top of the local machinists’ union said Boeing often ignores the union’s safety concerns until the union files a criticism with federal authorities.
“That sounds really great,” said official Lloyd Catlin of Boeing’s safety plan. “But in practice on the factory floor, it’s not.”
The FAA has been heavily criticized for its lax regulation of Boeing since two fatal Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Those allegations gained recent momentum after the Alaska Airlines accident.
The agency’s recent head, Mike Whitaker, told Congress in June that FAA oversight “was too reserved” however it’s improving. Knaup, a California-based FAA executive, said inspections have increased because the blowout.
FAA safety inspectors “can talk to anyone on the Boeing factory floor at any time during an inspection, and we do,” he told the NTSB.
Some 737s have door plugs installed to seal a cutout for an extra exit that was not needed on the Alaska jet. The Alaska plane’s plug was opened at a Boeing factory so staff could repair damaged rivets, but screws used to connect the panel weren’t replaced when the plug was closed.
The Accident The accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 occurred minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, on January 5. The tire blowout left a hole within the plane, oxygen masks fell off, and the cockpit door flew open. Miraculously, there have been no serious injuries and the pilots were in a position to return to Portland and land the plane safely.
A Boeing official said Tuesday that the corporate is redesigning the door stoppers in order that they can not be closed until they’re properly secured. Elizabeth Lund, who was appointed Boeing’s senior vp of quality shortly after the accident, said the corporate hopes to finish the repair inside a yr and that 737s already in service shall be retrofitted.
