Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems defend safety improvements at NTSB hearing
Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems touted changes in how they operate in the seven months since the in-flight blowout of a panel from a 737 Max, executives from the plane maker and supplier told federal investigators on Tuesday.
The two-day hearing into the January 5 accident is being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. Four bolts that helped secure the panel, called a door plug, were not replaced after a repair job in a Boeing factory, but the company said the work was not documented, the government agency found in a preliminary report.
"This was quite traumatic to the crew and passengers," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said as the hearing began Tuesday, speaking to anyone who may have been on the flight or knew someone aboard. "We are so sorry for all that you experienced during this very traumatic event."
Members of the NTSB are questioning executives at Boeing and Spirit — which makes fuselages for Max jets — about the near-tragedy that greatly damaged Boeing's reputation and has it facing new legal jeopardy.
"Every fuselage goes through a final product verification which is a dedicated area in the Spirit factory where we have Boeing inspectors," Doug Ackerman, vice president of supplier quality for Boeing commercial airplanes, told the panel, describing a change in procedure that began March 1.
The inspections involve "going over the fuselage front to back, inside and outside to identify any discrepancy," said Ackerman, and typically take a couple of days. Boeing takes ownership of the fuselage as it exits the Spirit factory in Wichita, Kansas, he added. "We want to have acceptance verification at the location where it is manufactured.
The plane manufacturer and supplier were given a midday reprimand by Homendy, who sounded what she called a word of caution in a raised voice.
"This is not a PR campaign for Boeing. What I want to know, what we want to know, is what happened in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, leading up to this, leading up to what happened in January?" Homendy said. "You can talk all about where you are today, there's going to be plenty of time for that," she said. "This is an investigation on what happened on January 5. Understand?"
The safety board will not determine a probable cause after the hearing — that could take another year or longer. The federal agency is calling the unusually long hearing a fact-finding step.
Additional witnesses include Elizabeth Lund, who has been Boeing's senior vice president of quality — a new position — since February, and officials from Spirit AeroSystems.
The hearing includes testimony about manufacturing and inspections, the opening and closing of the door plug in the Boeing factory, safety systems at Boeing and Spirit, and the Federal Aviation Administration's supervision of Boeing, according to its agenda.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
