Boeing unauthorized 737 work issue should have been caught years earlier, NTSB says
Adds FAA comments and details, paragraphs 4-6 and 15.
NTSB Chair Homendy criticizes Boeing for not addressing unauthorized work earlier
FAA official defends oversight but acknowledges improvements post-incident
FAA restricts Boeing's production and mandates quality improvements
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) -The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday the Alaska Airlines ALK.N Boeing BA.N 737 MAX 9 mid-air emergency was entirely avoidable because the planemaker should have addressed unauthorized production work long ago.
"This accident should have never happened. This should have been caught years before," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters on the second day of a hearing into the Jan. 5 incidentin which a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.
"There have been numerous, numerous Boeing audits, FAA audits, compliance reviews, compliance actions plans, noting a history of an unauthorized work, unauthorized removals," she added.
Federal Aviation Administration official Brian Knaup said at the hearing the agency has found additional issues with unauthorized removals by Boeing. "We have an open enforcement action around removals," Knaup said, adding the FAA has increased investigations of hotline and whistleblower reports.
He defended the FAA's oversight of Boeing before the accident. "We believe we conducted effective oversight," Knaup said, but conceded it was better since the accident. "Safety culture isn't a compliance thing."
He said the FAA has increased unannounced audits and acquired dedicated space for personnel at Boeing's 737 factory and at supplier Spirit AeroSystems SPR.N, which Boeing is in the process of acquiring.
The NTSB's Homendy added there was no guarantee the door panel issue would not occur again.
Boeing created no paperwork for the removal of the 737 MAX 9 door plug - a piece of metal shaped like a door covering an unused emergency exit - or its re-installation during production, and still does not know what employees were involved. The plug was missing four key bolts when it was delivered to Alaska Airlines, NTSB has said.
Boeing did not immediately comment.
If Boeing had learned from prior unauthorized work, "then this would have been caught and this would have been prevented," Homendy said, adding the board was also scrutinizing FAA oversight of Boeing.
"We have a lot of questions -- there was information known," Homendy said about FAA oversight of Boeing, citing defects, missing and incorrect documents, as well as incorrect policies that "have been issues for years. This is not new."
After the incident, the FAA barred Boeing from expanding production beyond 38 planes per month and announced a 90-day review of the planemaker. It has required significant quality and manufacturing improvements before it will allow the planemaker to hike production.
FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said in June the agency was "too hands off" in Boeing oversight. The FAA's approach before the mid-air accident was "too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections," Whitaker added. The FAA has also boosted the number of inspectors at Boeing and Spirit factories.
"We will continue our aggressive oversight of the company and ensure it fixes its systemic production-quality issues," the FAA said on Wednesday.
The FAA disclosed on Wednesday it has 16 open enforcement actions involving Boeing, with eight of them launched since the Alaska Airlines incident.
Last week, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell and Senator Tammy Duckworth introduced legislation to review and strengthen safety management systems at the FAA.
Homendy said the NTSB plans to conduct a safety culture survey of employees at Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington, that builds the 737 MAX.
How a panel blew off a Boeing plane in mid-air https://tmsnrt.rs/3NYwhX5
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Michael Perry, Nick Zieminski and Matthew Lewis
Ativos relacionados
Últimas notícias
Isenção de Responsabilidade: As entidades do XM Group proporcionam serviço de apenas-execução e acesso à nossa plataforma online de negociação, permitindo a visualização e/ou uso do conteúdo disponível no website ou através deste, o que não se destina a alterar ou a expandir o supracitado. Tal acesso e uso estão sempre sujeitos a: (i) Termos e Condições; (ii) Avisos de Risco; e (iii) Termos de Responsabilidade. Este, é desta forma, fornecido como informação generalizada. Particularmente, por favor esteja ciente que os conteúdos da nossa plataforma online de negociação não constituem solicitação ou oferta para iniciar qualquer transação nos mercados financeiros. Negociar em qualquer mercado financeiro envolve um nível de risco significativo de perda do capital.
Todo o material publicado na nossa plataforma de negociação online tem apenas objetivos educacionais/informativos e não contém — e não deve ser considerado conter — conselhos e recomendações financeiras, de negociação ou fiscalidade de investimentos, registo de preços de negociação, oferta e solicitação de transação em qualquer instrumento financeiro ou promoção financeira não solicitada direcionadas a si.
Qual conteúdo obtido por uma terceira parte, assim como o conteúdo preparado pela XM, tais como, opiniões, pesquisa, análises, preços, outra informação ou links para websites de terceiras partes contidos neste website são prestados "no estado em que se encontram", como um comentário de mercado generalizado e não constitui conselho de investimento. Na medida em que qualquer conteúdo é construído como pesquisa de investimento, deve considerar e aceitar que este não tem como objetivo e nem foi preparado de acordo com os requisitos legais concebidos para promover a independência da pesquisa de investimento, desta forma, deve ser considerado material de marketing sob as leis e regulações relevantes. Por favor, certifique-se que leu e compreendeu a nossa Notificação sobre Pesquisa de Investimento não-independente e o Aviso de Risco, relativos à informação supracitada, os quais podem ser acedidos aqui.