Boeing faced fresh criticism on Thursday for disclosures about an ongoing investigation by a federal safety agency into the matter. The Frightening Flight of January In which one of the company's 737 Max aircraft lost a panelDue to which the passengers had to face strong winds at an altitude of about 16,000 feet.
Boeing executive Elizabeth Lund, addressing reporters at the company's factory in Renton, Washington, on Tuesday provided new details about how the plane involved in the incident left the plant without four crucial bolts securing the panel, known as door plugs.
Boeing said the information would not be released until Thursday morning as part of a general agreement to give reporters in attendance time to digest the details.
But on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board rebuked the company for sharing investigative information and speculating about the cause of the incident, saying Boeing had committed a “clear violation” of agency rules related to active investigations. The agency said it would pass information about that violation to the Justice Department, which is investigating the January flight.
“Given the NTSB's involvement in numerous investigations over the decades, few organizations know the rules better than Boeing,” the agency said in a statement.
The NTSB also said it would revoke Boeing's access to agency investigative information and that the company would not be allowed to question other participants in a hearing scheduled for August. The agency said it confirmed Boeing's violations after receiving a copy of the press briefing.
In a statement, Boeing apologized for speaking inappropriately.
“We deeply regret that some of our comments, which were intended to clarify our responsibility in the accident and the steps we are taking, infringed on the NTSB's role as a source of investigative information,” the company said. “We apologize to the NTSB and stand ready to answer any questions the agency may have as it continues its investigation.”
The January incident on an Alaska Airlines flight caused no major injuries but raised new concerns about the quality of Boeing's planes more than five years after two fatal crashes involving the Max. In response, Boeing announced changes aimed at improving quality and safety, including expanding training, simplifying plans and procedures and reducing defects from suppliers.
Boeing held a briefing on Tuesday, followed by a tour of the factory, to show the progress made so far in improving quality. Ms. Lund also provided new details about the events leading up to the incident.
When the body of the plane involved in the January flight arrived at Boeing's factory in the summer of 2023, five keels did not meet specifications. As the plane was being worked on at the factory, Boeing and Spirit discussed how to solve the problem, Ms. Lund said at the briefing this week. By the time they decided the keels needed to be replaced, work on the plane was nearing completion.
The panel was removed to install nearby rivets, but no one documented that removal. Later, a team known as the “move crew” took the panel off and prepared the plane to be brought out, she said. Replacing the bolts securing the door was not that crew’s responsibility, Ms. Lund said, and the lack of documentation meant no one else knew to replace the bolts.
The panel, which fit perfectly into the space it covered, survived nearly 500 hours in flight before cracking on an Alaska Airlines flight.
When asked by a reporter about the individuals involved, Ms. Lund said that “'who' is solely the responsibility of the NTSB” and declined to comment further. The agency questioned this characterization, saying it was “focused on the probable cause of the accident, not placing blame on any individual or assessing liability.” This approach is important for such investigations because it encourages individuals with information to come forward without excessive fear of retribution.
Ms. Lund was promoted Leadership change in FebruaryTaking up her current role as senior vice president overseeing quality for all of Boeing's commercial aircraft. She was most recently in charge of commercial aircraft production programs. Prior to that, she held other executive roles, including overseeing supply chain development and strategy.
The January incident was a fresh blow to Boeing's reputation, following two earlier crashes of Max 8 planes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. The crashes led to a global ban on the Max that lasted about 20 months; the plane began flying again in late 2020.
For years after the crashes, Boeing executives assured regulators, airlines and the public that they had made extensive changes to improve the quality and safety of their planes. But the January incident — and Accounts of present and former employees Shoddy work and poor management decisions, as reported by The New York Times and others – suggested that the changes made then were not enough.
One of the most significant changes made by Boeing since January is that the bodies of 737 Max planes will undergo more rigorous inspections before they are shipped to Renton, near Seattle, for final assembly. The bodies are made by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, a supplier. It is expected to be acquired by Boeing soon.,
That change went into effect just a few months ago and has resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of major defects that need to be fixed at Boeing's factories, Ms. Lund said. Supplier inspections have also allowed Boeing to build the Max more quickly once the bodies arrive at its factories.
The company is producing fewer planes than planned because the Federal Aviation Administration, its main regulator, limited its production rate after the January flight.
“We have a strong presence at the supplier, we make sure the parts are perfect wherever they send them, we inspect them there, they rework them there, and then we send the parts back,” Ms. Lund said. “The benefits are really huge.”
Ms. Lund said the earlier Max crisis had forced Boeing to improve its engineering practices, but the recent incident has created a need for improvements in the production process.
“When this accident happened, it gave us an opportunity to look at a different area,” he said.
Other improvements the company has made include giving new employees more training before they start working on planes and expanding on-the-job training, Ms. Lund said. The company has sent in more than 160 workplace trainers, including veteran and retired mechanics, to help new employees get up to speed.
The company is also accelerating efforts to streamline many plans and processes, Ms. Lund said. Boeing has increased inspections and internal monitoring and placed a renewed emphasis on encouraging employees to speak up about concerns, collecting thousands of new comments and recommendations to improve quality.
Boeing has also tried to reduce work that is done out of sequence, known as traveled work, which can increase the risk of mistakes and cause other problems. The company said it has imposed more stringent requirements that planes must meet before they can move forward on the production line. This and other changes have helped the company reduce the amount of traveled work by more than 50 percent, Ms. Lund said.