NTSB says Boeing could lose 737 MAX probe status if it violates rules
again
Send a link to a friend
[June 28, 2024] By
David Shepardson
(Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board warned Boeing on
Thursday it could lose its status as a party to the probe into a 737 MAX
mid-air blowout after it violated rules by providing non-public
information to media and speculating about possible causes.
In a letter sent to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun late on Thursday, NTSB
Office of Aviation Safety Director Timothy LeBaron said an executive's
comments this week during a factory tour attended by dozens of
journalists "released non-public investigative information and made
unsubstantiated speculations about possible causes of the Jan. 5 door
plug blowout."
LeBaron said the NTSB had considered removing Boeing as a party to the
probe and added further infractions could lead to Boeing losing its
party status, which would bar it from participating in the
investigation.
"This disregard of the federal regulations and rules governing NTSB
investigations cannot be tolerated," LeBaron wrote, noting the board had
warned Boeing on March 13 about prior company comments.
He added that some of the remarks to media made by Elizabeth Lund,
Boeing's senior vice president of quality, were "either inaccurate or
unknown to the NTSB" while others had not been previously disclosed.
Boeing declined to comment directly on the letter, referring to an
earlier apology it released after the NTSB said it was sanctioning the
planemaker over the remarks to media.
The NTSB said Boeing would no longer see information produced during its
probe, which involved the mid-air blowout of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX
9 door plug with four missing bolts. Unlike other parties, Boeing will
now not be allowed to ask questions of other participants at a hearing
on August 6-7.
[to top of second column] |
The fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9
MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing with a gap in the
fuselage, is seen during its investigation by the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Portland, Oregon, U.S. January
7, 2024. NTSB/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo
LeBaron said the NTSB would subpoena Boeing witnesses to appear at
the hearing, which are expected to include Lund.
The NTSB also said it would refer Boeing's recent conduct to the
Department of Justice. In May, the DOJ said Boeing had violated a
2021 settlement with prosecutors that shielded it from criminal
charges over interactions with the Federal Aviation Administration
prior to MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
Separate to the issue with Lund, LeBaron said Boeing Chief Engineer
Howard McKenzie during a U.S. Senate hearing this month made
prohibited comments about a Southwest Airlines "Dutch roll"
incident, when he said the event "has nothing to do with design or
manufacturing."
LeBaron said the NTSB "has not made any such determination, and our
investigators have not yet ruled out design or manufacturing
issues." Southwest declined to comment.
The NTSB is investigating a Southwest 737 MAX that experienced a
"Dutch roll" at 34,000 feet while en route from Phoenix, Arizona to
Oakland, California on May 25. Such lateral asymmetric movements are
named after a Dutch ice skating technique and can pose serious
safety risks.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jamie Freed)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |