Officials report that Boeing is withholding information on the panel that detached during a flight.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board chair, Boeing has declined to disclose the individuals involved in the assembly of the door plug that detached from a jetliner during a January flight.

Jennifer Homendy, a member of the Senate committee, stated that the company has not disclosed documentation regarding a repair task which involved taking out and reinstating the panel on the Boeing 737 Max 9. It is also unclear if Boeing has maintained records related to this.

“It seems unreasonable that after two months, we still do not possess that information,” expressed Homendy. “The lack of this crucial data raises doubts about the adequacy of Boeing’s quality assurance, quality management, and safety management systems.”

Lawmakers seemed stunned.

Sen. Ted Cruz expressed that the situation was completely unacceptable.

Boeing did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Boeing has faced growing scrutiny since the incident on January 5, during which a panel covering an additional emergency door on an Alaska Airlines Max 9 was dislodged. Fortunately, the pilots were able to safely land the aircraft and there were no reported injuries.

Last month, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report stating that four bolts, used to secure the door plug, were absent after the panel was removed for the purpose of fixing damaged rivets nearby in September. According to NTSB representative Homendy, the repairs were carried out by contractors from Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems; however, it is still unknown who was responsible for removing and replacing the door panel.

After multiple attempts to request the names of the 25-member team and their manager from Boeing, Homendy stated that they have not been provided. She also mentioned that any security camera footage that could have potentially revealed the person responsible for removing the panel was overwritten 30 days later.

Boeing has been given a deadline of 90 days by the Federal Aviation Administration to address concerns regarding quality control. An expert panel consisting of industry and government representatives has identified issues in Boeing’s safety practices, despite efforts to improve them following the fatal crashes of two Max 8 jets in 2018 and 2019 which claimed the lives of 346 individuals.

Last week, the FAA gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan for addressing safety concerns raised by the FAA and an independent panel of experts from industry, government and academia.

Source: independent.co.uk