NTSB Determines Probable Cause of Door Plug Accident

Agency cites Boeing for inadequate training, guidance, and oversight in January 2024 Alaska Airlines incident.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 10:14 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Steve Spears

Mid-exit door (MED) plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. [Credit: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB determined the Alaska Airlines door plug loss was primarily caused by Boeing's failure to provide adequate training, guidance, and oversight, leading to manufacturing personnel not properly reinstalling critical securing bolts after rework.
Contributing to the accident was the FAA's ineffective compliance enforcement and audit activities, which failed to identify and ensure Boeing addressed its repetitive and systemic nonconformance issues.
The investigation revealed the door plug was missing all four critical installation bolts due to undocumented removal for rework, highlighting a deficient safety and quality control culture at Boeing.
The incident has led to increased scrutiny of Boeing's production processes, management changes, and numerous NTSB recommendations for both Boeing and the FAA to improve safety, documentation, and oversight.

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Inadequate training, guidance, and oversight on the part of the Boeing Company are to blame for the loss of the door plug from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 in January 2024.

On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a lengthy hearing to discuss the investigation into the event. The FAA was also cited for ineffective oversight of Boeing’s known recordkeeping issues.