NTSB to Conduct Hearing on Boeing 737 Max 9 Door Plug Incident

Boeing and Alaska Airlines are expected to testify at a two-day session starting Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, August 05, 2024 at 03:52 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Boeing is testifying at a two-day NTSB hearing in Washington, D.C. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting a two-day hearing to investigate the January 5 door plug separation from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, an incident that caused rapid decompression and injured eight people.
Preliminary NTSB findings indicate that four restraining bolts designed to hold the door plug in place were missing, and the aircraft had experienced two previous pressurization warning lights.
Boeing, subpoenaed for the hearing, has faced NTSB sanctions for allegedly releasing nonpublic information and has initiated significant safety culture and leadership changes, including the resignation of CEO Dave Calhoun.
Alaska Airlines is a party to the investigation, expressing its commitment to cooperate with the NTSB while emphasizing the ongoing nature of the probe limits further disclosure.

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Starting Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will conduct a two-day hearing in Washington, D.C., to look into the events surrounding the January 5 loss of a door plug from a Boeing 737 Max 9.

The aircraft, operating as Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, had just taken off from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon, and as it passed through 16,000 feet, the door plug blew off, resulting in rapid decompression. All 177 people on board the aircraft survived, although eight were injured by the loss of pressure that resulted in loose objects and parts of the cabin interior being turned into projectiles.