Boeing failed to provide training, oversight to prevent Max 9 midair emergency: US safety board

WASHINGTON - Boeing failed to provide adequate training, guidance and oversight to prevent a

midair cabin panel blowout

of a new 737 Max 9 flight in January 2024 that spun the planemaker into a major crisis, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on June 24.

The board harshly criticised Boeing’s safety culture and its failure to install four key bolts in a new Alaska Airlines Max 9 during production, as well as ineffective oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said at a board meeting that the incident was entirely avoidable because the planemaker should have addressed unauthorised production that was identified in numerous Boeing internal audits, reports and other forums for at least 10 years.

“The safety deficiencies that led to this accident should have been evident to Boeing and to the FAA,” Ms Homendy said.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle that no one died or sustained serious physical injuries.”

Boeing’s on-the-job training was lacking, the NTSB said, adding that the planemaker is working on a design enhancement that will ensure the door plug cannot be closed until it is firmly secured.

The accident prompted the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation and declare that Boeing was not in compliance with a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.

Chief executive Dave Calhoun announced he would step down within a few months of the midair panel blowout.

Ms Homendy praised

new Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg

but said “he has his work cut out for him, a lot of challenges to address, and that’s going to take time”.

Boeing said it regretted the accident and that it was continuing to work on strengthening safety and quality across its operations.

The FAA said on June 24 that it has “fundamentally changed how it oversees Boeing since the Alaska Airlines door-plug accident, and we will continue this aggressive oversight to ensure Boeing fixes its systemic production-quality issues”.

The incident badly damaged Boeing’s reputation and led to a grounding of the Max 9 for two weeks and a production cap of 38 planes per month by the FAA that still remains in place.

“While Boeing is making progress, we will not lift the 737 monthly production cap until we are confident the company can maintain safety and quality while making more aircraft,” the FAA added.

Boeing created no paperwork for the removal of the 737 Max 9 door plug – a piece of metal shaped like a door covering an unused emergency exit – or its re-installation during production, and still does not know which employees were involved, the NTSB said on June 24.

Then FAA administrator Michael Whitaker said in June 2024 that the agency was “too hands off” in Boeing oversight and it has boosted the number of inspectors at Boeing and Max fuselage manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems’ factories.

Boeing had agreed in July 2024 to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after two fatal 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. But in May, it

struck a deal with the Justice Department

to avoid a guilty plea.

The Justice Department has asked a judge to approve the deal, which will allow Boeing to avoid pleading guilty or facing oversight by an outside monitor. REUTERS