Boeing 737 Max in door panel blowout lacked four bolts, regulator says
A 737 Max jet left a Boeing factory missing four bolts designed to secure a door panel that blew off in mid-flight last month, according to a preliminary report by a US regulator. The NTSB’s report on Tuesday is the first official account of how the door plug could have fallen out of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane 16,000 feet over Oregon on January 5. The incident has raised questions about manufacturing and safety processes at Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the Max fuselages. The NTSB said that “four bolts that prevent upward movement of the [door] plug were missing” before the plug detached from the plane. According to the report, the fuselage arrived at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, in late August 2023. An inspection there uncovered five damaged rivets adjacent to the door plug that later blew out. In order for a team from Spirit to replace the rivets, the door plug was opened in September, according to the report. A photo shared via text message by Boeing employees after the rivet work showed the door plug later closed again without three of its bolts, while the location of the fourth bolt was obscured in the photo, according to the NTSB. Dave Calhoun, Boeing CE, said in a statement responding to the report that “whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened”. “An event like this must not happen on an aeroplane that leaves our factory. We simply must do better for our customers and their passengers.” Spirit said: “As we review the NTSB’s preliminary report, we remain focused on working closely with Boeing and our regulators on continuous improvement in our processes and meeting the highest standards of safety, quality and reliability.” The blowout has intensified scrutiny at Boeing, which had been recovering from two fatal crashes of 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019. The NTSB said its investigation was still in the process of determining what documents were used to authorise the opening and closing of the door plug during the rivet replacement.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-02-07/general/boeing-737-max-in-door-panel-blowout-lacked-four-bolts-regulator-says
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Boeing 737 Max in door panel blowout lacked four bolts, regulator says
A 737 Max jet left a Boeing factory missing four bolts designed to secure a door panel that blew off in mid-flight last month, according to a preliminary report by a US regulator. The NTSB’s report on Tuesday is the first official account of how the door plug could have fallen out of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane 16,000 feet over Oregon on January 5. The incident has raised questions about manufacturing and safety processes at Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the Max fuselages. The NTSB said that “four bolts that prevent upward movement of the [door] plug were missing” before the plug detached from the plane. According to the report, the fuselage arrived at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, in late August 2023. An inspection there uncovered five damaged rivets adjacent to the door plug that later blew out. In order for a team from Spirit to replace the rivets, the door plug was opened in September, according to the report. A photo shared via text message by Boeing employees after the rivet work showed the door plug later closed again without three of its bolts, while the location of the fourth bolt was obscured in the photo, according to the NTSB. Dave Calhoun, Boeing CE, said in a statement responding to the report that “whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened”. “An event like this must not happen on an aeroplane that leaves our factory. We simply must do better for our customers and their passengers.” Spirit said: “As we review the NTSB’s preliminary report, we remain focused on working closely with Boeing and our regulators on continuous improvement in our processes and meeting the highest standards of safety, quality and reliability.” The blowout has intensified scrutiny at Boeing, which had been recovering from two fatal crashes of 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019. The NTSB said its investigation was still in the process of determining what documents were used to authorise the opening and closing of the door plug during the rivet replacement.<br/>
