According to a statement by the NTSB on June 27, 2024, Boeing 鈥渂latantly violated鈥� investigative regulations and an agreement signed by the planemaker not to share information privy to the probe or speculate about causes of the 737-9 door plug blowout on January 5, 2024.听听

The NTSB said that on June 25, 2024, Boeing held a media briefing at its facility in Renton to talk about quality improvements but during the event a company executive 鈥減rovided investigative information鈥� and gave an 鈥渁nalysis of factual information already previously released鈥�. 

鈥淏oth of these actions are prohibited by the party agreement that Boeing signed when it was offered party status by the NTSB at the start of the investigation. As a party to many NTSB investigations over the past decades, few entities know the rules better than Boeing,鈥� the NTSB wrote in a scathing statement. 

The NTSB added that during the media briefing Boeing portrayed the NTSB investigation as a 鈥渟earch to locate the individual responsible for the door plug work鈥�.听听

‘Few entities know the rules better than Boeing’

The NTSB has been at pains to ensure employees at Boeing know that it is not a witch-hunt and that it is only focused on the 鈥減robable cause鈥� of the accident without placing blame on any individual.  

After the NTSB learned of the violation, Boeing provided a transcript of the media briefing which revealed that the executive had shared information that the safety board had not 鈥渧erified or authorized for release鈥�. 

鈥淏oeing offered opinions and analysis on factors it suggested were casual to the accident,鈥� the NTSB said in its statement.  

Following the disclosure, the NTSB announced several restrictions and sanctions against Boeing.  

The NTSB said that Boeing will retain its party status but will 鈥渘o longer have access to the investigative information the NTSB produces as it develops the factual record of the accident鈥�. 

鈥淭he NTSB will also subpoena the company to appear at an investigative hearing into the case scheduled for Aug 6 and 7 in Washington, DC. Unlike the other parties in the hearing, Boeing will not be allowed to ask questions of other participants,鈥� the NTSB said. 

The NTSB confirmed that it will advise the (DOJ) about the unauthorized disclosure.听听

“Given that Boeing is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in relation to its Deferred Prosecution Agreement stemming from Boeing精东影业 interactions with the FAA prior to the Boeing 737 MAX fatalities, the NTSB will be coordinating with the DOJ Fraud Division to provide details about Boeing’s recent unauthorized investigative information releases in the 737 MAX 9 door plug investigation,” the safety board said. 

Boeing is waiting to hear what punishment it will face from the DOJ for violating its 2021 deferred prosecution agreement put in place following the 737 MAX fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.听 聽聽聽聽

Boeing proposes using stock to buyout Spirit AeroSystems as talks near end

• Aircraft
• Aviation Economics & Finance

byIan Molyneaux

2024-06-25

Flight KE189 departed Seoul精东影业 Incheon International Airport (ICN) on June 22, 2024, at about 16:45 local time, headed for Taichung International Airport (RMQ) in Taiwan.

50 minutes into the flight, the B737 MAX experienced a sudden uncontrolled decompression. According to FL360aero, the message 鈥減ressure s ystem (pressure control function of the aircraft) abnormality鈥� was displayed while flying over Jeju Island.

As per standard procedure during a sudden loss of cabin pressurization, the flight crew made an emergency descent. According to data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft dropped about 26,900 feet in around 15 minutes. The aircraft, carrying 125 passengers, was able to return to ICN Airport at approximately 19:40 local time. 

One of the passengers onboard the flight captured footage inside the cabin, showing that the oxygen masks had all dropped from overhead.

The passenger said she thought it would be her 鈥渓ast day on earth鈥�.

South Korea精东影业 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation said 15 passengers reported that they had suffered from hyperventilation or pain in their eardrums, while 13 were hospitalized after landing.

The flight was rescheduled for the following day, June 23, 2024.

A spokesperson for Korean Air told the media that the airline is currently investigating the cause of the diversion and plans to put the aircraft under maintenance after a thorough safety inspection.

Qatar Airways flight encounters turbulence, 12 people injured

• Airlines
• Aviation Safety

byClement Charpentreau

2024-05-27

Speaking to journalists on June 4, 2024, Bolat said discussions had so far included the cost of engines for 150 737 MAXs and 75 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, according to .听听

reported that the order could reach up to 250 aircraft with an additional 25 737 MAXs.听

The news of a possible order with Boeing comes after Turkish Airlines placed a firm order in December 2023 with Airbus for 230 aircraft, comprised of A350-900s, A350-1000s and A350Fs.听听

鈥淲e finished with Airbus, we have ordered 385 aircraft; some are fixed, and some are options,鈥� Bolat told Gulf News. 鈥淪o, with Airbus, should we exercise our options or not? That is the question, but it will happen after three to four years.鈥� 

Bolat also suggested that an order with Boeing was a strategy to 鈥渟plit the risk鈥� between the US planemaker and Airbus.  

鈥淏oeing has some production problems, which might happen to Airbus sometime later. Therefore, we want to mitigate the risks by using both products available in the market,鈥� Bolat added.  

Bolat added that discussions were still in the early stages and there was no deadline for any sort of final agreement.  

Turkish Airlines has ambitions to operate a fleet of over 800 aircraft in ten years. The airline currently operates 455 aircraft comprising of Boeing and Airbus jets.听听

Turkish Airlines restores flights to Afghanistan after almost three years聽

• Airlines

byLuke Peters

2024-05-22

Santiago Paredes, who worked for Spirit AeroSystems between 2010 and 2022, told the and in an exclusive interview that he would find 鈥渁nywhere from 50 to 100, 200鈥� defects (some more serious than others) on fuselages that were being prepared to be sent to Boeing.听听

“I was finding a lot of missing fasteners, a lot of bent parts, sometimes even missing parts,鈥� Paredes said during his interview.  

What精东影业 more Paredes claimed that he felt under pressure to be less thorough with his inspections and even earned the nickname, 鈥渟howstopper鈥�. 

鈥淭hey just wanted the product shipped out. They weren鈥檛 focused on the consequences of shipping bad fuselages. They were just focused on meeting the quotas, meeting the schedule, meeting the budget鈥� If the numbers looked good, the state of the fuselages didn鈥檛 really matter,鈥� Paredes claimed.听

‘Working at Spirit, I almost grew a fear of flying’

Paredes also told CBS that during his time at the Spirit facility in Wichita, Kansas, he often found problems around the same aircraft door plug that was separated from an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 8 jet on January 5, 2024. 

“Working at Spirit, I almost grew a fear of flying. Knowing what I know about the 737, it makes me very uncomfortable when I fly on one of them,” Paredes told NBC.  

In his interview with the BBC, Paredes alleged that Boeing knew Spirit were sending fuselages with defects.   

According to the BBC, Paredes was eventually told by one of his seniors to alter the way he reported defects, thus reducing the overall number.  

After objecting, the former US Air Force airman was demoted and relocated to another area at the factory.  

Paredes was subsequently reinstated after he filed an “ethics complaint” with Spirit, which was partially upheld.听

‘My last cry for help’

Paredes wrote in an email to the Spirit CEO Tom Gentile at the time and said: “I have lost faith on the quality organization here at Spirit and this is my last cry for help.鈥�  

Despite being reinstated to his leadership role Paredes, who now says he is reluctant to fly on a 737 MAX, decided to leave Spirit.  

In a statement Spirit told the BBC that it “strongly disagree[d]” with the allegations while Boeing told CBS that it had long had a team in place that finds and fixes defects in fuselages that arrive from Spirit.  

A spokesperson for Boeing added that since March 2024, engineers for the company have been checking all fuselages at the Spirit factory as they come off the production line.听听聽聽

Spirit shareholder lawsuit

Paredes’ allegations are part of a lawsuit against Spirit by shareholders in which he claims there were “widespread quality failures” at the company. Spirit told CBS the allegations are “unfounded.” 

Boeing is understood to be in talks to buy back Spirit, which was once part of the same organization. 

Since the Alaska Airlines plug door blowout on January 5, 2024, Boeing and Spirit have both been criticized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

As part of an audit of the two companies following the Alaska accident the FAA said it found 鈥渕ultiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements鈥�.   

The plug door on the Alaska Airlines 737-9 was fitted by Spirit but was subsequently removed by Boeing staff during assembly for further maintenance work.听听

FAA investigates after Boeing reports workers falsified 787 inspection paperwork

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-05-07

In a letter to FAA chief Michael Whittaker on April 4, 2024, Duckworth said that the 鈥渦nknown, undisclosed feature鈥� surprised the crew and resulted in an emergency checklist and a pilots鈥� headset being sucked out of the cockpit during the emergency. 

News that the cockpit door had flung open by itself during the Alaska Airlines 737-9 door plug blowout incident came to light when the National Transportation Safety Board Chair (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy spoke with reporters at a press briefing on January 8, 2024.听听

Homendy said: 鈥淭he cockpit doors flew open immediately and at this point the flight attendant in the forward portion of the aircraft was standing. The cockpit door flew open, hit the lavatory door. The lavatory door got stuck. She did attempt to shut the door three times. It eventually shut, but it did blow open during the explosive decompression.鈥� 

In her letter to the FAA, Duckworth declared that it is critical that the flight crew are 鈥渇ully informed of all features on the flight deck鈥�. 

Duckworth said this was the third time that Boeing pilots have been kept in the 鈥渄ark鈥� on MAX aircraft.听听

‘Boeing精东影业 failure to disclose this feature is chilling’

鈥淏oeing精东影业 failure to disclose this feature is chilling given its history of concealing 737 MAX information from pilots,鈥� Duckworth wrote.  

Citing the first example, Duckworth said in a press release that Boeing decided to 鈥渘ot include the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, MCAS, in the 737 MAX 8 flight manual, which left the flight crew on Lion Air flight 610 unaware of what was forcing their aircraft into a nose-dive”.听

Secondly, she said that Boeing decided to 鈥渘ot inform airlines or pilots that the Angle of Attack (AOA) disagree alert aboard most 737 MAX 8 jets was nonfunctional鈥�. 

鈥淭his is dangerous, and the FAA must not view this latest omission in isolation. Instead, FAA should consider regulatory action informed by Boeing精东影业 past pattern of deceptive conduct in developing and delivering the MAX series of aircraft and a strong commitment to avoid repeating past FAA mistakes in deferring to Boeing,鈥� Duckworth wrote in her letter to the FAA.  

Duckworth advised the FAA to work with the NTSB to discover why the Alaska Airlines crew were unaware the cockpit door would open during a rapid decompression.听听

Wishing a happy birthday to Senator Tammy Duckworth! 馃帀 is the first Thai-American woman elected to U.S. Congress, the first woman with a disability elected to U.S. Congress, and the first Senator to give birth while serving in office.

— When We All Vote (@WhenWeAllVote)

鈥淭he FAA also needs to work with NTSB to consider whether other elements of the cockpit might need improvement in light of the previously undisclosed cockpit door design. Finally, as noted above, FAA must take into account that this is the third time Boeing has failed to disclose a flight deck feature to 737 MAX pilots,鈥� Duckworth精东影业 letter concluded.  

In a statement to in response to Duckworth精东影业 call, Boeing said that it was “committed to continued transparency and sharing information with our regulator and operators鈥�.听

Senator Duckworth is a member of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Chair of the CST Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation.

You can read the Senator Tammy Duckworth’s in full on her website.

Boeing pays Alaska Airlines $160M for lost profits following 737 MAX 9 grounding

• Airlines
• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-04-04

In the filing on April 4, 2024, Alaska Airlines said its first quarter operations and results were 鈥渟ignificantly impacted鈥� by Flight 1282 in January 2024 and the subsequent 737 MAX 9 grounding.听

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffered a door plug blowout on January 5, 2024, resulting in a rapid decompression onboard the jet shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (PDX). 

According to Alaska Airlines, the compensation from Boeing the losses incurred by the carrier from 鈥渓ost revenues, costs due to irregular operations, and costs to restore our fleet to operating service鈥�. 

The airline added in the filing that the payment was 鈥渋nitial鈥� compensation and further redress is 鈥渆xpected鈥� to be provided beyond the first quarter. 

鈥淨1 adjusted loss per share will not include the Boeing compensation and is expected to be approximately ($1.15) to ($1.05). This reflects approximately ($0.95) cents of lost earnings due to Flight 1282 and the 737-9 MAX grounding lost profits,鈥� Alaska Airlines said in its .听

The airline added that despite the impact of the aircraft accident 鈥渟trategic network adjustments, strong demand within the quarter, and continued recovery of West Coast business travel鈥� had led to an improvement in its core business performance in the first three months of 2024. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 170 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operating in the United States on January 6, 2024, after the Alaska Airlines plug door blowout. 

This incident prompted the grounding and extensive examination of Boeing 737 MAX 9 fleets worldwide. 

Alaska Airlines’ first 737-9 cleared to operate again following the grounding took off on January 26, 2024.听

Alaska Airlines aircraft maintenance staff secure new contract in split vote

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2024-03-15

The FAA imposed a cap on production to 38 jets per month after its investigation into a plug door blowout on a 737 MAX aircraft in January 2024 found error on the assembly line.

However, according to Reuters, the monthly output rate is fluctuating well below this level and fell as low as single digit in late March 2024. 

Reuters reported that Boeing quoted CFO Brian West that the company was making several efforts to address quality concerns and increase confidence among stakeholders.

During a Bank of America event, West said the FAA was “deeply involved and undertaking a tougher audit than anything we’ve ever been through before.”

The US aircraft manufacturer said that efforts have been made in order to reduce the amount of “traveled work”, or planes moving down the line while jobs still needed to be fixed from earlier work stations. The effect is to slow overall production and, in turn, deliveries.

Boeing’s production slowdown is also expected to send a ripple through the airline industry, with some carriers shaving flights from their schedule or extending existing jet leases to meet demand.

Consultancy firm Cirium Ascend was quoted by Reuters to have said that Boeing flew 13 MAXs in March, following 11 in February 2024. The rate peaked around 38 a month in mid-2023.

By contrast, Airbus flew an average of 46 a month of its competing A320neos in the first quarter of 2024.

Reuters also reported that Airbus is facing its own supply constraints and is producing an average of 50 A320neo family jets a month, below the 58 originally targeted in early 2024.

However, with Boeing slowing production in order to satisfy FAA audits and complete outstanding works, Airbus is gaining a comfortable lead in the market for the most-sold category of single-aisle jets.

NTSB report: photo shows key bolts missing from Alaska plug door during assembly

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-02-07

According to the , which spoke with people familiar with the matter, the airline CEOs are frustrated with production problems at Boeing resulting from the planemaker having to address safety issues at its facilities in the wake of the Alaska incident.

Boeing is under pressure to deliver a comprehensive action plan for improving safety going forward to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), following a six-week audit of its factory during which multiple failures were discovered.

In response to calls from the airline chiefs to discuss getting the situation back on track, Boeing has agreed to send board members to meet with them next week.

The CEO of Boeing, David Calhoun, will not be in attendance, but Boeing told the Wall Street Journal that he fully supports the move.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been actively focused on listening to our customers at all levels of our company,鈥� a Boeing official told the Wall Street Journal.

Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines are all waiting on deliveries of jets that are now facing delays.

Boeing delivered around 40 737 MAXs a month at the end of 2023, but this figure is expected to fall to nearer 15 in the near future.

FBI reach out to Alaska 737-9 鈥榲ictims鈥�

In other developments, the has reported that the FBI has contacted passengers who were on board the Alaska Airlines aircraft involved in January精东影业 incident.

The FBI, which is carrying out the recently announced Department of Justice criminal investigation of Boeing, has advised passengers by letter that they may be a 鈥減ossible victim of a crime鈥�.

The Seattle Times was shown a copy of the FBI letter dated March 19, 2024.

鈥淎s a Victim Specialist with the Seattle Division, I鈥檓 contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime. This case is currently under investigation by the FBI. A criminal investigation can be a lengthy undertaking, and for several reasons, we cannot tell you about its progress at this time,鈥� the letter reads.

The letter also gives passengers a link to register for updates on the case and an email address to contact the FBI.

Alaska Airlines flight 1282 suffered a rapid decompression when a left mid-cabin door plug separated from the aircraft at 16,000 feet on January 5, 2024.

Boeing CEO unable to tell NTSB exactly who reinstalled door plug on Alaska 737-9

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-03-14

On March 7, 2024, Homendy appeared in front of the committee and said that documentation which recorded the removal and reinstallation of the door plug during repair work to the 737-9 at the Boeing factory on September 19, 2023, had not been provided by the planemaker.听听聽聽

Homendy also said attempts to take the names of 25 Boeing employees who may have worked on the door plug removal and reinstallation had so far been fruitless.   

At the hearing senators told Boeing to provide the NTSB with the information it needs and Homendy was instructed to advise the committee in writing of the outcome.  

In a addressed to Senator Maria Cantwell, the chair of the committee, on March 13, 2024, Homendy stated that Boeing had advised her that it was 鈥渦nable to find the records documenting鈥� the work carried out on the door plug and that security camera footage that could help obtain this information had been overwritten.听

鈥淭he absence of those records will complicate the NTSB精东影业 investigation moving forward,鈥� Homendy wrote. 

The names of the 25 staff members who reported to the door crew manager in September 2023, were subsequently provided by Boeing following the Senate Committee. However, the identity of those that specifically worked on the door plug was not singled out.  

鈥淎fter NTSB received this list, I called Boeing Chief Executive Officer David Calhoun and asked for the names of the people who performed the work. He stated he was unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed,鈥� Homendy wrote in her letter.听

Moving forward聽with investigation

Increasingly, concerned that it may be perceived that the NTSB is seeking to find out the names for 鈥減unitive purposes鈥�, Homendy wrote in her letter that that she only wished to 鈥渟peak with them to learn about Boeing精东影业 quality-assurance processes and safety culture鈥�. 

鈥淥ur only intent is to identify deficiencies and recommend safety improvements so accidents like this never happen again. In fact, our nation精东影业 aviation record is so safe precisely because of our well-established culture of non-punitive reporting,鈥� Homendy wrote. 

Accordingly, Homendy advised the committee that she has instructed the NTSB to 鈥渦tilize our authority to protect the identities of the door crew and other front-line employees who come forward with information relevant to the investigation鈥�. 

She added that she did not want the focus on individual names to 鈥渘egatively impact our investigation and discourage鈥� Boeing employees from coming forward. 

鈥淭he NTSB investigation, as with all our investigations, seeks to determine the probable cause of this accident and issue safety recommendations to prevent it from reoccurring. Our only goal is to ensure the increased safety of the flying public,鈥� Homendy concluded in her letter.听

Boeing responds after NTSB says 737 door plug documents and staff names withheld

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-03-07

The move comes as type certification of the MAX 10 looks increasingly unlikely to happen within the next couple of years, with Boeing精东影业 production ambitions hampered by the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout and subsequent resulting investigations.听听聽

鈥淲e鈥檝e asked Boeing to stop building Max 10s, which they鈥檝e done, for us and start building Max 9s. It精东影业 impossible to say when the Max 10 is going to get certified,鈥� United CEO Scott Kirby told a JPMorgan investor conference on March 12, 2024. 

United has an outstanding order for 277 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, plus another 200 options. 

The United CEO also appeared to confirm rumors that the airline is looking to the Airbus A321 as a possible alternative to some of the MAX 10s it has on order.  

鈥淲e are in the market for A321s, and if we get a deal where the economics work, we鈥檒l do something. If we don鈥檛, we won鈥檛 and will wind up with more Max 9s,鈥� Kirby said. 

According to , once the MAX 10 receives certification, United will switch back to the larger family aircraft variant.听

‘Boeing’s drive to ramp up production of some aircraft has been restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following the Alaska Airlines incident on January 5, 2024, when a 737-9 door plug separated from the fuselage shortly after takeoff. 

The subsequent fallout and impact of the incident on Boeing has been colossal, with investigations launched by not only the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) but also the US Department of Justice (DoJ). 

Despite Kirby精东影业 recent criticism of Boeing, he believes that the planemaker should take this time to get its house in order, even if it results in delays to aircraft production. 

鈥淭his is not a 12-month issue, this is a two-decade issue,鈥� Kirby said, adding: 鈥淚鈥檇 rather Boeing do what they need to do, and they are now.鈥澛�

NTSB to hear sworn testimonies at public hearing into 737-9 door plug blowout

• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2024-03-13