A door panel that took off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet mid-flight on January 5 appeared to be missing four key bolts, according to a preliminary report by the US safety board investigating the incident.
“The investigation continues to determine which manufacturing documents were used to allow the opening and closing of the ‘plugs’ during rivet rework,” the report said.
To date, the NTSB has not said what caused the panel to tear off the Alaska Airlines jet as it climbed to an altitude of 16,000 feet after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.
The incident has become a full-blown safety and reputational crisis for Boeing that will slow aircraft production and risk it ceding further market share to rival Airbus ( AIR.PA ), opens a new tab.
The door that flew off the Boeing 737 lost four lock bolts. Kyle Rinker via REUTERS
Photo evidence released Tuesday showed a bolt missing from the door plug, which had been removed to repair a rivet damaged in the production process, according to an independent report by the US National Transportation Safety Board.
The US Federal Aviation Administration grounded 171 of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes after the incident, mostly operated by US carriers United and Alaska Airlines, for inspections. The planes were allowed to return to service at the end of January.
The NTSB has focused on how the panel – installed on this model of the MAX 9 in place of the optional exit door – separated from the aircraft. The plug is held in place by four bolts, opening a new tab and then secured with “stop fittings” at 12 different locations along the sides of the plug and the door frame.
Photographic evidence released Tuesday showed a bolt missing from the door jamb. through KPTV
All 12 stop devices were removed during the event, the NTSB said in January. Both United Airlines and Alaska Air said in the days after the explosion that they had found loose parts on some grounded MAX 9 planes.
The plug is produced by Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), opening a new tab, a subsidiary of Boeing that was spun off from its parent in 2005. The production process involves work at both Wichita, Kansas facilities before the fuselage is assembled at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, plant.
The FAA has taken a harder line than in the past on Boeing. In late January, it prevented Boeing from expanding production of its 737 MAX aircraft due to quality issues. This means it can continue to produce MAX jets at its current rate, but it cannot increase that rate.
The NTSB dismantled the doors from the Alaska Airlines flight. NTSB/SWNS
“I certainly agree that the current system is not working, because it is not delivering safe aircraft,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told lawmakers on Tuesday. “So we have to make changes to that.”
The FAA is conducting a manufacturing audit of the 737 MAX, which looks at all elements of production at Boeing and fuselage production at its supplier Spirit.
Boeing shares rose 1.5% in Tuesday trading; the stock has lost more than 20% of its value since the beginning of the year.
Report By David Shepardson; editing by David Gaffen and Nick Zieminski
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
