NTSB Chief Testifies That Boeing Is Stonewalling on 737 Door Plug Blowout

Jennifer Homendy tells lawmakers the company has yet to provide names of the installation team and critical documents; Boeing asserts after hearing NTSB has been updated.

John Gallagher

Wednesday, March 06, 2024 at 04:34 PM ET

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NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy testified before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on March 6. [Credit: U.S. Senate]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB chair testified to the Senate that Boeing has failed to provide critical information, including employee names and documentation, essential for the Alaska Airlines door plug investigation.
This lack of transparency and data from Boeing has severely hampered the investigation and raised concerns about the company's quality assurance and safety management systems.
Spirit AeroSystems, the manufacturer of the 737 fuselages, also faced criticism for transparency issues, specifically for misrepresenting contractors as direct employees to the NTSB.
Boeing, in response, stated it had provided a full list of names and suggested a lack of documentation would mean no records exist for the work.

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The country’s top transportation safety official stunned Senate lawmakers on Wednesday after testifying that Boeing has yet to provide information crucial to her agency’s investigation into Alaska Airlines’ door plug blowout incident.

Testifying before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said that despite numerous requests, NTSB has not received the names of 25 people working at the company’s Renton, Washington, facility responsible for opening, closing, and removing the door plug involved in the January 5 event or documentation supporting their work.