Boeing has failed to provide crucial information in the 737 MAX 9 investigation, NTSB says

06.03.2024 - 17:53 / thepointsguy.com / Jennifer Homendy / Cooper / Airlines

Boeing has not been fully cooperative with investigators looking at January's door plug incident on board an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, the lead investigator of a federal probe into the company said Wednesday during a Congressional hearing.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy told a Senate panel that the agency's investigators have not received some essential information that they have sought from the planemaker.

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"Boeing has not provided us with the documents and information that we have requested numerous times over the past few months, specifically with respect to opening, closing and removal of the door plug, and the team that does that work," Homendy said.

"It's absurd that two months later, we don't have that," she added.

During a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on transportation safety, Homendy again said that Boeing has failed to provide information surrounding the work that was carried out on the accident aircraft's door plug, as well as details such as the names of employees who may have worked on the door plugs. Homendy also said that Boeing has not provided paperwork surrounding specific procedures for identifying, storing and retaining quality records.

"Either they exist and we don't have them, or they do not exist, which raises several different questions, depending on which is the right answer," Homendy said.

Related: Bolts were missing on the Boeing 737 MAX in last month's Alaska Airlines accident, NTSB finds

The Alaska Airlines jet was missing bolts that secure the door plug in place, according to the preliminary results of the NTSB investigation.

Overall, Boeing has not provided the NTSB with an appropriate accounting of its quality-related record-keeping processes, Homendy said.

"We have been informed that they have a procedure to maintain documents on when work is performed, including when door plugs are open, closed or removed," Homendy said. "We have not been able to verify that."

"Without that information, that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management safety management systems within Boeing," she added.

A team of 25 people deals with the doors and the door plugs, Homendy said. Because Boeing has not provided the employees' names or details, the NTSB has not been able to interview them, which is a crucial part of understanding Boeing's quality control practices and any possible deficiencies, she noted.

Additionally, the agency has not been able to interview the door plug team's manager, who is currently on medical leave, Homendy said.

Investigators have instead focused on various emails and text messages, dates