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< NTSB says key bolts were missing from the door plug that blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9

February 6, 20243:11 PM ET

NTSB says key bolts were missing from the door plug that blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9

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ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Four key bolts were missing when a door plug blew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet in midair last month. That's one of the findings of a preliminary investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board that was released today. Those bolts were removed after some repair work at Boeing's factory in Washington. The report stops short of saying who is responsible for failing to reinstall the missing bolts. NPR's Joel Rose is following the investigation. Hi, Joel.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.

SHAPIRO: Well, what else is new in this report?

ROSE: Well, as you say, this confirms that the bolts were missing when the plane left Boeing's factory. They were supposed to secure the door plug that later blew off of an Alaska Airlines flight in midair shortly after the plane took off from Portland, Ore., last month. And this is not a total surprise. It's been widely reported after it was first suggested a few weeks ago in an online post by an anonymous whistleblower who claims to be a Boeing insider. That whistleblower's account has now largely been confirmed by the NTSB, including some other key details of how this happened.

SHAPIRO: How does a mistake like that happen? Can you walk us through it?

ROSE: Sure. The NTSB confirms that the door plug was installed by a major Boeing supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the fuselage for the Boeing 737 at its factory in Wichita, Kan. That fuselage was delivered to Boeing's factory in Washington by rail around the end of August last year, and then Boeing discovered problems with some rivets on the fuselage near the door plug. The NTSB says the door plug was opened so that employees of Spirit at the Boeing factory could replace the damaged rivets. Then, the door plug was closed back up. The NTSB says the bolts were not reinstalled after that work, according to photo evidence provided by Boeing. There are still a number of things we just don't know, including exactly who opened and re-closed the door plug and what authorization they did or maybe did not have to do it. The NTSB says that part of the investigation continues.

SHAPIRO: And that's - this report comes just hours after the head of the Federal Aviation Administration testified on Capitol Hill. What did he say?

ROSE: Yeah. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker testified in the morning before the release of this report. But still, he got a lot of questions about this incident from lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and here is some of what Whitaker said.

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MICHAEL WHITAKER: The events of January 5 - it really created two issues for us. One, what's wrong with this airplane? But two, what's going on with the production at Boeing? And there have been issues in the past, and they don't seem to be getting resolved. So we feel like we need to have a heightened level of oversight to really get after that.

ROSE: Whitaker says the FAA is very confident it has figured out what was wrong with the 737 MAX 9, but it is not so sure about Boeing's production lines. The FAA has dispatched about 20 inspectors to Boeing's factory in Washington and another six to Spirit's factory in Kansas. They may have to keep some inspectors there permanently, Whitaker said, although no final decision yet on how many. The FAA has already taken the unprecedented step of ordering Boeing to hold production of the 737 at its current level, 38 jets per month. The agency says Boeing cannot increase production until the FAA is satisfied that quality control is up to its standards.

SHAPIRO: Has there been any response from Boeing and Spirit?

ROSE: Both companies said they're reviewing the report. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement, quote, "whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened," unquote. Calhoun said an event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. Remember, Boeing was still working to rebuild public trust after the crashes of two 737 MAX 8 jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. This incident has touched off another crisis for Boeing and now for one of its top suppliers as well. The NTSB investigation will continue, though it could be a year or more before we get its final report.

SHAPIRO: That's NPR transportation correspondent Joel Rose. Thank you.

ROSE: You're welcome.

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