Boeing, Not Spirit, Mis-installed Piece That Blew Off Alaska MAX 9 Jet

Dominic Gates, reporting for Seattle Times: The fuselage panel that blew off an Alaska Airlines jet earlier this month was removed for repair then reinstalled improperly by Boeing mechanics on the Renton final assembly line, a person familiar with the details of the work told The Seattle Times. If verified by the National Transportation Safety Board investigation, this would leave Boeing primarily at fault for the accident, rather than its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which originally installed the panel into the 737 MAX 9 fuselage in Wichita, Kan.

That panel, a door plug used to seal a hole in the fuselage sometimes used to accommodate an emergency exit, blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 as it climbed out of Portland on Jan. 5. The hair-raising incident drew fresh and sharp criticism of Boeing's quality control systems and safety culture, which has been under the microscope since two fatal 737 MAX crashes five years ago. Last week, a different person -- an anonymous whistleblower who appears to have access to Boeing's manufacturing records of the work done assembling the specific Alaska Airlines jet that suffered the blowout -- on an aviation website separately provided many additional details about how the door plug came to be removed and then mis-installed.

'The reason the door blew off is stated in black and white in Boeing's own records,' the whistleblower wrote. 'It is also very, very stupid and speaks volumes about the quality culture at certain portions of the business.' The self-described Boeing insider said company records show four bolts that prevent the door plug from sliding up off the door frame stop pads that take the pressurization loads in flight, 'were not installed when Boeing delivered the airplane.' the whistleblower stated. 'Our own records reflect this.' NTSB investigators already publicly raised the possibility that the bolts had not been installed. Further reading:
Alaska Air CEO Says Loose Bolts Found in 'Many' Boeing Jets.
Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 Lost Nose Wheel Before Takeoff, FAA Says.
FAA Calls for Door-Plug Checks on Second Boeing Jet.

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