The Seattle Times is reporting Josh Dean, 45, a former quality control inspector at 737 Max fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, died from an infection by an aggressive antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or MRSA. He died after two weeks in critical condition with the fast-spreading infection, the last few days on life support.

• READ MORE: Boeing Workers Reluctant to Speak Up, FAA Panel Tells Senate

Like Boeing whistleblower John “Mitch” Harnett, who died of what is so far being described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 9, Dean was pursuing a complaint against Spirit for retaliation over his claims. He was represented by the same legal firm as Harnett.

• READ MORE: NTSB Chief Testifies That Boeing Is Stonewalling on 737 Door Plug Blowout

Dean reported quality control issues at Spirit AeroSystems that included improperly drilled holes on the pressure bulkhead that eventually led to a suspension of production at Boeing’s Washington state Max plant. He was fired by Spirit in 2023 and claimed that the company scapegoated him, alleging it had lied to the FAA about the bulkhead defects.

• READ MORE: ‘Changes…Need to Happen,’ Boeing Official Says

He filed the whistleblower complaint in November, and the case was pending. He actually went to work for Boeing in Wichita before moving to another company.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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“There’s changes that need to happen,” Brian West, Boeing’s chief financial officer, said Wednesday in addressing the Bank of America Global Industrials Conference in London. “There’s no doubt about it. But we’re going to do so diligently and expeditiously.”

In remarks, West acknowledged repercussions had followed a recent incident where a door plug dislodged from a Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger jet mid-flight, leading to rapid decompression.

“The events of January 5, and Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, and everything we’ve learned since, we acknowledge that we need to improve upon safety and quality and conformance,” West said.

• READ MORE: Boeing Changes Leadership of 737 Program

As a result of the event, which triggered a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation and FAA audit, Boeing is taking a careful look at its processes, West told the forum.

“There are changes that need to happen,” he said. “[We’re] deliberately going too slow to get this right. We’re the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we’re ready, and we’ll feel the impact of that over the next several months.”

No More Travel Work

In late February, the FAA said it was giving Boeing 90 days to identify ways to improve safety culture and address compliance issues. One of the first changes the company identified as necessary was putting an end to “traveled work,” West said.

“Traveled work has existed for a very long time, and in recent years, we tried to get ahead of it,” he said. “Turns out it wasn’t enough. For years, we prioritized the movement of the airplane through the factory over getting it done right, and that’s got to change. The leadership team got it in the immediate aftermath of January the 5th. We control how this happens, and it’s about our resolve to get ahead and get after traveled work.”

• READ MORE: FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days to Improve

West noted that Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is in the factory “personally making sure that we do get control of it, because once you do reduce travel to work, your quality gets better, your stability gets better, and probably most importantly, the work of the mechanic gets better.”

On March 1, for example, the company announced it would no longer be traveling work between contractor Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, which manufactures fuselages, and the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington.

“We will only accept a fully conforming fuselage from Spirit, which means in the near term, there might be variability of supply,” West said.  “But long term the predictability that we’re going to get is dramatically better, and the nonconformances dropped significantly in our factory because it takes those nonconformances and it pushes them upstream where they belong to get actioned.”

West stressed that production is continuing at Boeing, and it has aircraft scheduled for delivery through 2028.

Impact on Customers

West acknowledged that the slowdown is impacting Boeing’s customers.

“[But] they have been supportive of everything we’re trying to do to enhance safety and quality for the industry,” he said. “We are in regular, very transparent communications, and they know precisely where we stand and the progress that we’re making, and we, at the same time, have to understand what their needs are as they think about their flight schedules and their passengers.

“Ultimately, our job is to make sure that we can execute on behalf of our customers in a way that’s more predictable, more dependable, with the highest quality in mind, and we’re going to do that one airplane at a time, and our customers are hanging with us and we’re appreciative of that.”

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Testifying before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said that despite numerous requests, NTSB has not received the names of 25 people working at the company’s Renton, Washington, facility responsible for opening, closing, and removing the door plug involved in the January 5 event or documentation supporting their work.

“Wow,” responded the committee’s ranking member, Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who asked for the update. “Are you telling us that even two months later you still do not know who actually opened the door plug?”

“That’s correct—and it’s not for lack of trying,” Homendy said, pointing out that it’s not unusual when critical information is not provided immediately after an investigation.

“But for this one, we know for a fact that there is a team that deals with the doors in Renton. The manager has been out on medical leave, so we’ve not been able to interview that individual. We’ve asked for the names of the other 25 people and have not received the names. We’ve asked for the records with respect to what occurred. We asked what shift did it occur on. It’s absurd that two months later we don’t have that.”

• READ MORE: FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days to Improve

When asked by committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) whether Boeing has a policy of maintaining documents on work such as installing or removing doors and door plugs, Homendy said the NTSB has not been able to verify that with Boeing.

“And without that information, that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management, and safety management systems within Boeing,” Homendy said.

Said Cantwell: “It’s beyond disappointing. We have an entire economy that depends on people getting this right, and it seems like this…is stymying your investigation.”

Shortly after the hearing ended, Boeing responded to FLYING’s request for comment with a statement asserting that the company “early in the investigation” provided NTSB with names of employees, including door specialists, that it believed had relevant information.

“We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request. With respect to documentation, 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.”

Spirit AeroSystems Called Out

Homendy also testified to transparency problems with Spirit AeroSystems, the Wichita, Kansas-based manufacturer of fuselages for the Boeing 737. Spirit has also been part of the investigation.

Referring to individuals that NTSB believed were employed by Spirit, “we were just informed last week that they’re actually not Spirit employees, they’re contractors,” she told the committee. “All three people work for three different entities.”

NTSB was not informed of that by Spirit. “That information was told to us through the individuals being interviewed that contacted us directly. We have engaged our attorney on this matter, just so that you’re aware,” she said.

Spirit representative Joe Buccino told FLYING that, as a party to the NTSB investigation, “we are unable to comment on any matters associated with the investigation. We are coordinating with the NTSB to address the chair’s comments regarding this matter.”

• READ MORE: Boeing Confirms Discussions About Acquiring Spirit AeroSystems

Cruz, who called the lack of response from Boeing “utterly unacceptable,” asked Homendy to inform the committee in writing whether or not the aerospace giant provides the information requested by NTSB by March 13.

“This investigation needs to get to the bottom of what occurred, and what caused the accident,” Cruz said.

The post NTSB Chief Testifies That Boeing Is Stonewalling on 737 Door Plug Blowout appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Spirit AeroSystems was part of Boeing until 2005, when the company was split off and sold to private equity investors. Spirit continued its relationship with Boeing as a contractor, making components for aircraft that include the fuselage of the 737 line. According to investigators, Spirit AeroSystems built the fuselage with the door plug that failed in flight on January 5, resulting in an explosive decompression and a worldwide temporary grounding of the 737 Max 9 fleet.

The discussion to put the Spirit AeroSystems back under the Boeing umbrella is seen as an effort of improving quality control over the components and their installation in Boeing products.

• READ MORE: FAA Critical of Boeing Safety Culture

According to a March 1 statement from Boeing, the company has been working closely with Spirit AeroSystems and its leadership to strengthen the quality of the commercial airplanes that they build together.

“We confirm that our collaboration has resulted in preliminary discussions about making Spirit AeroSystems a part of Boeing again,” the Boeing statement reads. “We believe that the reintegration of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems’ manufacturing operations would further strengthen aviation safety, improve quality, and serve the interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders. Although there can be no assurance that we will be able to reach an agreement, we are committed to finding ways to continue to improve the safety and quality of the airplanes on which millions of people depend each and every day.”

FLYING reached out to Spirit AeroSystems but it did not respond by press time.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report on the January 5 event, the fuselage with the door plug was shipped to Boeing’s Renton, Washington, factory for aircraft final assembly. At Renton the technicians noted that some of the interior bulkhead rivets were improperly installed and needed to be replaced. This required the removal of part of the aircraft interior and the door plug. The door plug was then reinstalled but without the bolts necessary to keep it secure.

• READ MORE: Boeing Responds to Missing Bolts

The aircraft became part of Alaska Airlines fleet and was put into service in November 2023. In December the flight crews noticed warning annunciations from the aircraft’s pressurization system. These were documented and reported to maintenance, but the aircraft stayed in use because the pressurization system has a triple redundancy.

On January 5, as the aircraft climbed through 16,000 feet shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon the door plug blew off the aircraft, explosively depressurizing the cabin. The flight crew declared an emergency, and the aircraft returned to KPDX.

There were no serious injuries, but the FAA grounded all 737 Max 9s until the door plugs could be inspected.

The post Boeing Confirms Discussions About Acquiring Spirit AeroSystems appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“I think we’re also going to look at a culture survey that’s due at the end of the month and make a determination of how many folks we need on the ground in both places,” Whitaker told lawmakers on Tuesday during testimony before the House Transportation & Infrastructures’ aviation subcommittee.

“We haven’t made that determination, but I do anticipate we’ll want to keep people on the ground there. We don’t know how many yet, but we do think that presence will be warranted.”

Whitaker said the agency has 20 inspectors at Boeing facilities and “half a dozen” at Spirit.

The increased presence at Boeing, Whitaker said, “is to allow us to have direct conversations with employees about pressures they might be feeling or instructions they might be getting, and what incentives they’re dealing with.”

He also said Boeing has been informed that the FAA will not grant production expansion of 737 Max units “until we’re satisfied that quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved.”

The FAA’s ramped-up oversight of Boeing and Spirit, a key Boeing supplier, was initiated in the aftermath of the January 5 incident in which a mid-cabin door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. The 737-9 Max had been en route from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon, to Ontario, California (KONT). Only minor injuries were sustained as a result of the accident.

• READ MORE: Additional Passengers Sue Alaska Airlines, Boeing

Asked about the most recent 737 Max setback involving incorrectly improperly drilled holes in fuselages built at Spirit’s Wichita, Kansas, facility and shipped to Boeing’s Renton, Washington, plant for final assembly by Boeing, Whitaker told lawmakers that the FAA is working with Boeing to understand what happened.

“These are small rivets that hold a window in place,” he said. “We know it’s not [built] to compliance, but we want to understand why it has not been manufactured per design. Then we’ll see what corrective actions need to be taken to repair the windows and when that has to happen.”

Whitaker Pushed on Mandatory Pilot Retirement

While not a member of the aviation subcommittee, U.S. Representative Troy Nehls (R-Texas) was provided wide discretion by committee leadership to grill Whitaker on his agency’s alleged opposition to legislation raising the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots from 65 to 67.

Nehls read from a letter the FAA sent Monday to the Senate Commerce Committee that Nehls interpreted as opposing implementing the legislation—if Congress were to pass it—without conducting studies beforehand.

“Our official position is that we don’t have a position on the retirement age, but if it changes, we’d like to have data to support the change,” Whitaker said.

• READ MORE: House Committee Votes to Push Back Pilot Retirement Age 2 Years

But Nehls pointed out that pilots for Part 135 operators are already flying past age 65.

In addition, he said, other countries, including Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, all allow pilots to fly past the age of 65 with no evidence of safety issues. “Why don’t you just call them and ask them [about their safety records],” Nehls said.

“My intent [in sending the letter to the Senate] was to oppose the legislation but to identify issues around international compliance and data on what it means to raise the age,” Whitaker said.

The Senate is expected this week to take up the provision to raise the retirement age as part of a markup of the 2023 FAA reauthorization, which the chamber failed to pass by the September deadline. The House passed its version of the 2023 reauthorization in July.

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On Sunday, Boeing employees received a memo from Stan Deal, the head of the company’s commercial aircraft division, stating that last week an employee at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas—the makers of the fuselages for the 737—noted an issue with improperly drilled holes.

SpiritAero Systems confirmed this in a statement to FLYING, stating, “A member of our team identified an issue that does not conform to engineering standards. Once notified, we began immediate actions to identify and implement appropriate repair solutions. We are in close communication with Boeing on this matter.”

“I want to thank an employee at the supplier who flagged to his manager that two holes may not have been drilled exactly to our requirements,” Deal stated. “While this potential condition is not an immediate flight safety issue and all 737s can continue operating safely, we currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered airplanes.”

The fuselages are built in Kansas and then shipped to Renton, Washington, where the final assembly of the aircraft takes place.

“While this issue could delay some near-term 737 deliveries, this is the only course of action given our commitment to deliver perfect airplanes every time. The days we are setting aside in the 737 program will allow time for our teams to complete the inspections and, if needed, perform the necessary rework,” the memo continues.

Travel Work a Problem

In the memo, Deal noted that during the quality stand down held at the Renton facility, “Many employees voiced frustration with traveled work and how unfinished jobs—either from our suppliers or within our factories—can ripple through the production line. These employees are absolutely right. We need to perform jobs at their assigned position. We have to maintain this discipline within our four walls and we are going to hold our suppliers to the same standard.”

Deal states the company recently instructed a major supplier to hold shipments until all jobs have been completed to specification. “While this delay in shipment will affect our production schedule, it will improve overall quality and stability,” he said.
Deal adds that the 737 program “will spend several days in the Renton factory to focus on quality, including inspecting some undelivered airplanes for a potential non-conformance prior to delivery.”

“In our drive to strengthen quality across Commercial Airplanes, your voice is critical. We asked you and everyone across our production system to speak up. Thanks to all those who have raised concerns and offered ideas.” he said.

• READ MORE: Operators of Boeing 737 Max Need a Bolt Check

The Event that Led to This

It has been one month since Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a Boeing 737 Max 9, had a door plug blow out shortly after take off from Portland International Airport (KPDX). The aircraft had just reached 16,000 feet when the door plug failed, causing a rapid decompression and sending loose objects such as cellphones and stuffed animals into the sky. The flight crew declared an emergency and returned to KPDX. Video of the airline descending through the night sky with a gaping hole in its side and the overhead oxygen masks deployed has gone viral.

There was no one sitting next to the bulkhead when the door plug blew, and there were no serious injuries, but many of the passengers have filed a lawsuit against Boeing and the airline, alleging the aircraft, which had been removed from overwater flights due to unaddressed issues with its cabin pressurization system, should not have been permitted to fly.

The cause of the door plug blowout is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. Among the questions being asked is whether the four bolts that are supposed to hold the door plug in place were properly installed or installed at all.

Boeing has been under the microscope for quality control issues involving the 737 Max since 2018 and 2019, when an alleged design flaw and a rush to certification were noted in connection to two fatal crashes that resulted in the deaths of 346 people and the grounding of the aircraft for 20 months.

The problems with design and certification have impacted Boeing’s delivery schedule. Several air carriers, including United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have placed orders for the new versions of the 737 Max that have yet to be certified. United ordered the Max 10, Southwest the 737 Max 7. Neither aircraft has received FAA approval to carry passengers.

The post More Trouble for Boeing Max appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In an internal communication sent to employees of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division, division CEO Stan Deal said this was the first of many quality stand-down days for the factories involved in the 737 program.

“Production, delivery, and support efforts will pause for a day, so teammates can take part in working sessions focused on quality,” Deal said. “The sessions allow all teammates who touch the airplane to ‘pause, evaluate what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and make recommendations for improvement.’

“During the stand-downs, teammates will participate in hands-on learning, reflection, and collaboration to identify where quality and compliance can be improved and create actionable plans that will be tracked to closure.”

Quality Stand-Downs will be held over the next several weeks at other Boeing factories and fabrication sites to include all airplane programs.

According to the Seattle Times, a whistleblower at the Renton plant allegedly has paperwork that claims the door plug was removed for repair from the fuselage of the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 that lost the plug in flight, then reinstalled without the required four bolts that hold the door in place. If the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation confirms this, the blame for the event would fall on Boeing, rather than Spirit AeroSystems, the makers of the 737 fuselages.

• READ MORE: Alaska Airlines Grounds 737 Max Fleet Following Explosive Decompression

The aircraft was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October 2023. It did not have enough time in the air for it to be subject to a so-called “heavy maintenance” cycle.

The door plug was found in the backyard of a Portland, Oregon, area schoolteacher. It has been sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C., for analysis. Investigators are trying to determine if the four bolts that are supposed to hold the door plug in place were installed correctly.

In the meantime, the entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft remains grounded and subject to extra inspections. The Max 9 is primarily used by United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Both carriers are having to cancel flights and adjust schedules to make up for the loss of aircraft while they continue to closely inspect their fleets.

According to Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci, a close inspection of the 737 Max 9—which makes up 20 percent of the company’s fleet—uncovered loose bolts in many of the airplanes.

“I am more than frustrated and disappointed,” Minicucci told NBC News. “I am angry. This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people. And my demand on Boeing is, what are they going to do to improve their quality programs in-house?”

• READ MORE: NTSB Identifies Part That Failed on 737 Max 9

Boeing and Alaska are facing lawsuits from passengers who were on board Flight 1282 on January 5. As the aircraft with the gaping hole in its side descended into Portland, several thought they were going to die and sent farewell messages to their loved ones via text.

Among the concerns were that the airliner had three maintenance write-ups regarding the pressurization system, but the aircraft was permitted to remain in service as long as it did not fly over water.

What Is a Door Plug?

The door plug covers a space that can be turned into an emergency exit if the operator of the aircraft desires. The outline of the door plug can be seen from the exterior of the airplane. Inside, if the emergency exit option is not selected, the space looks like a bulkhead in the fuselage with windows.

The fuselages for the 737 are made by Spirit AeroSystems, which is also investigating its quality-control measures. In December, two former employees at the Wichita, Kansas, facility filed a class-action suit alleging that a lack of quality control was endangering the company.

FLYING will continue to follow this story and post updates as they are available.

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United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 after a door plug blew out on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 earlier this month represents the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.”

United has 79 of the Max 9s in its fleet, which is more than any other airline. During an interview on CNBC, Kirby expressed frustration at the progress of the 737 Max 10, which has been delayed several years due to FAA certification challenges and quality-control issues. Kirby noted that United is looking at options beyond using the Boeing 737 Max 10 since the airliner is still several years away from certification. In 2018 Kirby, then president at United, noted the company had placed orders for 100 Max 10s and expected to have them in the air by 2020. That obviously didn’t happen for a variety of reasons, the first of which were two deadly accidents.

In 2018, one 737 Max 8 went down in Indonesia, the other in Ethiopia, killing a total of 346 people. This resulted in a global grounding of the 737 Max while Boeing, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and FAA conducted investigations. 

Approximately two years later, the authorities released their final report, blaming the accidents on the 737 Max’s maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS).

A congressional investigation attributed both crashes to the “plane-maker’s unwillingness to share technical details.” Changes were made to the MCAS software, and new training protocols were developed. The aircraft returned to service in November 2020.

As reported by FLYING in October 2022, Boeing had to achieve regulatory approval for the Max 10 no later than December 2022 in order to meet its delivery deadlines. The deadline was not met, and industry officials note it is likely still years away.

In the meantime, Kirby said that the airline will consider alternatives to the Boeing product, as the issues are creating significant delays. Kirby told CNBC that United was “going to at least build a plan that doesn’t have the Max 10 in it” but did not specifically mention the alternative. The only other global manufacturer of large jets is Airbus.

FLYING reached out to Boeing for a response. Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, responded with a prepared statement: “We have let down our airline customers and are deeply sorry for the significant disruption to them, their employees, and their passengers. We are taking action on a comprehensive plan to bring these airplanes safely back to service and to improve our quality and delivery performance. We will follow the lead of the FAA and support our customers every step of the way.”

In a January 15 message to employees, Deal announced a list of immediate actions to address concerns over Boeing quality that included adding additional inspections throughout the build process at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, the Wichita, Kansas-based manufacturer that builds the fuselages for Boeing aircraft.

Additionally, Boeing has named retired Admiral Kirkland Donald to “lead an in-depth assessment of Boeing Commercial quality management system.” According to a statement from Boeing, “…Donald and a team of outside experts will conduct a thorough assessment of Boeing’s quality management system for commercial airplanes, including quality programs and practices in Boeing manufacturing facilities and its oversight of commercial supplier quality. His recommendations will be provided to [Boeing CEO Dave] Calhoun and to the Aerospace Safety Committee of Boeing’s board of directors.”

Donald spent 37 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer. His last Navy assignment was as director of the service’s nuclear propulsion program, helping to ensure the safe and effective operation of all nuclear-powered warships and supporting infrastructure.

“The [Navy] program is recognized worldwide for excellence in reactor safety and reliability,” the statement said.

Donald currently serves as chairman of the board for Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States.

The post United Airlines Says It’s Disappointed in Boeing appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“These actions are separate from the FAA’s investigation and the agency’s plan to increase oversight of 737-9 production,” Deal said. “We will cooperate fully and transparently with both as we work to restore trust with our regulator and our customers. And as the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation proceeds, we will take additional steps to improve our practices as the facts and findings dictate.

“As we continue to respond to the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident, our team has been working with the five affected airlines to inspect their 737-9 fleet. They have been examining and collecting measurements around the mid-exit door plugs to ensure they are installed per specifications. While we complete these tasks to earn [FAA] approval to unground the affected 737 9s, our team is also taking a hard look at our quality practices in our factories and across our production system.

“We have taken important steps in recent years to strengthen our quality management system’s (QMS) foundation and its layers of protection. But the AS1282 accident and recent customer findings make clear that we are not where we need to be. To that end, we are taking immediate actions to bolster quality assurance and controls across our factories.”

The actions include adding additional inspections throughout the build process at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems.

• READ MORE: Boeing Subcontractor Scrutinized Over Door Plug Failure

“These checks will provide one more layer of scrutiny on top of the thousands of inspections performed today across each 737 airplane and build on the reviews we have implemented to catch potential nonconformances,” said Boeing. “Since 2019, we have increased the number of commercial airplanes quality inspectors by 20 percent, and we plan to make more investments in the quality function.”

Boeing plans to increase team sessions on quality to “gather and refocus on the fundamentals of our QMS, take advantage of our expanded training programs, and recommit to improving quality and compliance.

Boeing has deployed a team to Wichita, Kansas, to work alongside Spirit AeroSystems in addition to quality assurance teams already in place. Its job is to “inspect Spirit’s installation of the mid-exit door plug and approve them before the fuselage section can be shipped to Boeing. We are also inspecting more than 50 other points in Spirit’s build process and assessing their build plans against engineering specifications.”

Boeing will also be working more closely with the five airlines that utilize the 737 Max 9, “opening their factories to 737 operators for additional oversight inspections to review our production and quality procedures. Spirit will do the same and we will learn from our customers’ insights and findings.”

In addition, an outside party will be brought in to thoroughly review the quality management system at the Commercial Airplanes Division and suggest further improvements.

These inspections of the mid-exit door plugs will continue as mandated by the FAA, and customer representatives will continue to have access to anything they want to see on board their airplane before delivery.

• READ MORE: FAA Scolds Boeing Over Door Plug Decompression Incident

“Everything we do must conform to the requirements in our QMS,” said Deal. “Anything less is unacceptable. It is through this standard that we must operate to provide our customers and their passengers complete confidence in Boeing airplanes. Let each one of us take personal accountability and recommit ourselves to this important work.”

This latest challenge for Boeing stems from the January 5 accident where Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 lost a door plug shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon.

The jet, with 177 on board, took off just before 5 p.m. PST, destined for Ontario, California.

Approximately 13 minutes into the flight as the aircraft climbed through 16,000 feet, the door plug blew off. There was explosive decompression that sucked cellphones and parts of the seats adjacent to the hole out of the aircraft. A 15-year-old boy sitting next to the hole had his shirt ripped off his body.

The flight crew declared an emergency and the aircraft returned to the airport. There were no serious injuries reported among the passengers or crew.

Within hours Alaska Airlines grounded its fleet of 737 Max 9s, and the FAA issued an emergency grounding for the remaining aircraft around the world.

The post Boeing Bolstering Its Quality Inspections appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to the investigative publication The Lever, the complaint was filed on December 19 in federal court in New York state on behalf of investors in Spirit AeroSystems. The complaint alleges that employees of the aerostructure manufacturer repeatedly warned corporate officials about “sustained quality failures” and “excessive amounts of defects,” but their concerns were ignored.

Employees allegedly discussed that it was only a matter of time before one of these substandard parts made it onto a jet delivered to a customer. Among the parts made by Spirit AeroSystems is the door plug that is used to turn a space for an optional emergency exit into a window. From the interior of the cabin it looks like the other windows. From the exterior the outline of the door is clearly seen on the fuselage.

On January 5 the left door plug of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 blew off the aircraft as it climbed through 16,000 feet, resulting in violent decompression. The airplane had just taken off from Runway 28L at Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon. The flight crew declared an emergency and the aircraft returned to the airport. There were no serious injuries among the 177 on board.

• READ MORE: Alaska Airlines Grounds 737 Max Fleet Following Explosive Decompression

The door plug was located adjacent to seats 26A and 26B. Both were heavily damaged, and parts of them expelled from the aircraft along with personal items such as cellphones. According to the New York Post,  a 15-year-old boy identified was seated in 25A, the window seat in the row directly ahead of the door plug when it blew—the force sucking the shirt off his back. When the wind died down, he relocated to a seat away from the gaping hole in the airplane and, like others on board, put on a supplemental oxygen mask. As it was impossible to talk over the noise, the woman sitting next to the boy used a cellphone as a tablet, and they communicated by text. He said he was OK but had some scrapes. They posed for a selfie at the end of the ordeal.

Since the event, the FAA has grounded all 150 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft and instructed operators to inspect them. Both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines utilize the 737 Max 9 and have reported finding loose bolts.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recovered the door plug on Monday along with other bits and pieces torn from the aircraft. They are being shipped to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C., where they will be put under a microscope for examination.

• READ MORE: NTSB Finds Missing 737 Max 9 Door Plug in Teacher’s Backyard

According to Clint Crookshanks, an aerospace engineer with the NTSB who is part of the structures team on this investigation, explained that the door plug is held in place by 12 stop pads that interface with 12 pins to prevent it from blowing out of the fuselage. The door is installed using guide tracks and roller guides then secured with four bolts. Crookshanks noted the guide tracks were fractured, but as of yet, the NTSB has not determined if the bolts gave way or if they were even installed.

The investigation has revealed the aircraft was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October 2023, and according to flight trackers, had logged approximately 145 flights at the time of the accident.

The NTSB has verified there were three maintenance write-ups made by the crews for air pressurization warning lights. This is a triple redundant system, with a primary and secondary that control cabin pressure by computer and a third system controlled manually. Maintenance issues were reported on December 7, January 3, and January 4.

The FAA allows aircraft to fly with these maintenance issues since it is considered a triple redundancy.

The NTSB said it will be investigating whether the warning lights were “correlated in any way to the expulsion of the door plug and the rapid decompression. The agency said  the probe into the blowout could take months.

• READ MORE: NTSB Identifies Part That Failed on 737 Max 9

Boeing said it is aiding the NTSB in the investigation. On Tuesday, company CEO and president Dave Calhoun held a safety meeting via webcast, addressing the employees and noting how the event shook him “to the bone” when he saw the image of the blowout.

“I didn’t know what happened to whoever was supposed to be in that seat next to that hole,” Calhoun said. “I got kids. I got grandkids, and so do you. This stuff matters. Everything matters. Every detail matters. I know I am preaching to the choir here. It’s not a lecture by any stretch. It is a reminder of the seriousness at which we have to approach our work.”

Calhoun added that Boeing has been in touch with its customers, who are understandably anxious and have grounded their fleets as a precaution.

“They did it quickly to prevent another potential accident,” he said. “We have to demonstrate with our actions that every Boeing airplane is safe in the sky. We are starting from a very anxious moment with our customers, and we have to deal with that reality.”

Boeing said it wants to continue to play a key role in the NTSB investigation, providing it with information to help determine the cause of the accident.

“They are as good as it gets,” Calhoun said of the agency. “I trust them every step of the way.”

In the meantime, the FAA is working with operators to develop an inspection process. FLYING reached out to Spirit AeroSystems and were referred to a statement on the company website: “Spirit AeroSystems has been working closely with our customer since the event with Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on [January] 5. A Spirit team is now supporting the NTSB’s investigation directly. As a company, we remain focused on the quality of each aircraft structure that leaves our facilities.”

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