Boeing Company BA said yesterday that required records documenting the elimination of a critical component during production of a 737 MAX 9, which malfunctioned during a mid-air crisis, were never generated.
“It appears from our records that this list was first requested from us on Saturday, March 2, via email, and the request was discussed by Boeing and the NTSB on Monday,” the letter read, according to Reuters.
Last month, the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSB) indicated that a port plug, which had come loose from a Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK The 737 MAX 9 plane flying on January 5 appeared to be missing four essential bolts.
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Executive Vice President of Boeing Ziad Ojakli stated in the letter to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell: “We have looked thoroughly and found no such documentation” and that the company’s working theory was that “the documents required by our processes were not created when it opened the door,” Reuters added.
NTSB Chairman Wednesday Jennifer Homendy condemned Boeing for what it called a lack of cooperation and failure to disclose certain documents, such as those regarding the operation of the door plug and the identity of 25 door crew workers at the 737 factory in Renton, Washington.
Following the accident, which caused no injuries, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the MAX 9 for several weeks in January.
Additionally, Boeing was banned from increasing the MAX production rate and the FAA instructed Boeing to formulate a comprehensive plan within 90 days to address “systemic quality control issues,” Reuters added.
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