NTSB Says Boeing Has Not Supplied Key Info in 737 Max Inquiry

Boeing has not offered essential data sought by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board because it investigates what prompted a door panel to return off a 737 Max 9 aircraft throughout an Alaska Airways flight in January, the protection board’s chairwoman advised a Senate panel on Wednesday.

The official, Jennifer Homendy, advised the Senate Commerce Committee that her company had requested any documentation that exists relating to the opening and shutting of the panel, referred to as a door plug, at Boeing’s manufacturing facility in Renton, Wash. Ms. Homendy mentioned the protection board had additionally requested the names of sure employees on the manufacturing facility.

Boeing has a group of 25 workers and a supervisor who deal with doorways on the Renton plant, Ms. Homendy advised the Senate committee. The supervisor has been on medical go away and the company had been unable to interview that particular person, Ms. Homendy mentioned. She added that Boeing had not offered the protection board with the names of the opposite 25 workers.

“It’s absurd that two months later, we don’t have that,” she mentioned.

In a press release after the listening to, Boeing mentioned it had beforehand offered the protection board with “names of Boeing employees, including door specialists, who we believed would have relevant information.” The corporate added, “We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request.”

Boeing’s assertion additionally advised that the corporate won’t have any information handy over relating to the opening of the door plug. “If the door plug removal was undocumented, there would be no documentation to share,” the assertion mentioned.

On the listening to, lawmakers shortly expressed concern in response to Ms. Homendy’s testimony. Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington and the committee’s chairwoman, known as it “beyond disappointing” that Boeing had not offered the names of the workers.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the highest Republican on the panel, known as the state of affairs “utterly unacceptable.” He requested Ms. Homendy to report again to the committee in every week relating to the corporate’s cooperation.

Boeing is dealing with investigations by each the protection board and the Federal Aviation Administration over the episode on Jan. 5 with the Alaska Airways jet, which had taken off from Portland, Ore. Nobody was significantly injured when the door plug got here off the aircraft at about 16,000 ft, however the mishap has prompted new scrutiny of the aircraft maker’s quality-control practices.

A preliminary report launched by the protection board final month mentioned that 4 bolts meant to safe the door plug in place have been lacking earlier than the panel got here off the aircraft. It outlined a sequence of occasions that occurred at Boeing’s manufacturing facility in Renton that will have led to the aircraft being delivered with out these bolts being in place.

On the manufacturing facility, the door plug was opened in order that broken rivets on the aircraft’s fuselage, or physique, may very well be repaired, and the 4 bolts wanted to be eliminated to permit for the door plug to be opened, the report mentioned. In {a photograph} of the door plug after it had been reinstalled, three of the bolts gave the impression to be lacking, and the placement of the fourth was not seen.

Ms. Homendy mentioned on the listening to that the company nonetheless didn’t know who had opened the door plug on the manufacturing facility. “And it’s not for lack of trying,” she mentioned.

Boeing has confronted a wave of criticism for the reason that episode on the Alaska Airways flight. The F.A.A. barred the corporate from increasing manufacturing of the 737 Max sequence till it addressed quality-control points, and final week, the regulator gave the company 90 days to develop a plan to make enhancements.

“This is about fixing the system, and it’s hard to fix the system if we don’t know what happened,” Ms. Cantwell advised reporters after the listening to. She mentioned that her committee was engaged on arranging hearings with the F.A.A. administrator, Mike Whitaker, and with Boeing’s chief government, Dave Calhoun.