Boeing discloses names of 737 MAX employees after NTSB chair faults cooperation

Boeing on Wednesday provided US regulators with the names of employees on its 737 MAX door team after lawmakers and a federal safety official sharply criticized the planemaker's failure to do so at a Senate hearing. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy had said earlier on Wednesday that Boeing had failed to supply the employee names and some key records sought in the agency's ongoing investigation into the Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 mid-air cabin door plug emergency. Homendy said at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing that investigators sought the names of the 25 people who work on door plugs at a Boeing facility in Renton, Washington, and had begun a week of interviews on Sunday. "It is absurd that two months later we don't have it," she said. Boeing said on Wednesday that soon after the incident it had provided the NTSB with the names of some of its employees, including door specialists it believed would have relevant information. After Homendy's comments on Wednesday, Boeing provided the employee list, a NTSB spokesperson said, saying the agency received the names around 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT). "We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request," the planemaker said, adding, "if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share. We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB’s investigation.”<br/>