3 passengers sue Boeing, Alaska Airlines for $1 billion after door plug incident
12 March 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Boeing. This is just a little over two months after a door plug blew off an Alaskan Airlines 737 mid-flight.
Both the Justice Department and Boeing are declining to comment on the investigation. A Spirit AeroSystems spokesperson said Spirit is cooperating with any and all investigations but did not comment further.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting its own probe into the company. The chair of the board said getting Boeing to hand over the information needed has been frustrating.
Questions about passenger safety and Boeing planes were discussed at a hearing about the NTSB’s investigation.
This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Portland, Ore. A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out Jan. 5, shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)
“Turning specifically to Alaska Airlines flight 1282, I am deeply concerned about potential safety issues with the Boeing 737 Max 9,” said U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.
Chair of the NTSB, Jennifer Homendy, said Boeing has yet to turn over the names of the team that worked on the door plug that blew off.
A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out Jan. 5, shortly after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport (Courtesy: Strawberrvy/Elizabeth Le)
“Boeing has not provided us with the documents and information that we have requested numerous times over the past few months, specifically with respect to opening, closing, and removal of the door and the team that does that work,” said Homendy.
Homendy said they have also requested surveillance footage of the work being done in mid-September in Renton, Washington. She said Boeing has not complied with handing that over either. She added that the footage was deleted after 30 days.
“It’s absurd that two months later, we don’t have that. Without that information, that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management, safety management systems within Boeing,” said Homendy.
Senior Contributing Analyst with the Teal Group, Bruce McClelland, said this is a challenging time for Boeing.
“I’m sure they have internal lawyers battling about what they should disclose and shouldn’t disclose. But, ya, it’s a bad look for Boeing. All of this is a bad appearance for them,” said McClelland.
McClelland believes after all the investigations are finished, Boeing will land on its feet.
“It’s going to remain high profile, it’s going to remain a problem for Boeing for a while, but at the end of the day, they will continue to build airplanes, deliver airplanes, generate cash flow,” said McClelland.
There’s been talk of Boeing purchasing Spirit AeroSystems. McClelland doesn’t believe these investigations will threaten a potential deal.
There is expected to be an update this Wednesday. That’s the day the NTSB is being told to hand over the list of people who worked on that door plug.
The chair said that is dependent on Boeing complying.