Boeing is 'not cooperating' with NTSB investigation into mid-air blowout on Alaska Airlines flight

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13164055/boeing-not-cooperating-ntsb-investigation-alaska-airlines.html

• NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy accused Boeing of withholding key records

• Investigators seek the names of people who worked on the faulty door plug

• Company insists it has now provided a 'full list' of people on the door team

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board has accused Boeing of failing to provide some key records sought in its ongoing investigation into the Alaska Airlines 737 Max mid-air cabin door emergency.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators have sought the names of the 25 people who work on door plugs at a Boeing facility in Renton, Washington, but have not received them from Boeing.

'It is absurd that two months later we don't have it,' Homendy said at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday.

Boeing insisted that it had initially provided the NTSB with some of the names of Boeing employees, including door specialists it believed would have relevant information.

'We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request,' the planemaker said, adding, 'if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share.' 'We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB´s investigation,' the Boeing statement added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Homendy said she was frustrated.

'It's not for lack of trying,' she said, adding that the information being sought includes the precise shift that worked on the improperly installed door plug in September.

The agency also seeks documentation related to opening and closing of the door plug and removal of key bolts that were missing.

Homendy said the NTSB has requested documentation related to the door plug 'numerous times over the past few months.'

Separately, she told Reuters the NTSB plans to hold a multiple-day investigative hearing into the MAX 9, likely in late summer, which will include testimony from Boeing personnel and fuselage manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems.

Homendy confirmed that inspections of all other MAX 9 planes in service found no other missing bolts.

The planemaker has scrambled to explain and strengthen safety procedures since the January mid-air incident that led to the FAA grounding the MAX 9 for several weeks.

The company has been the subject of increased scrutiny from regulators and big air carriers concerned about the quality of jet production.