Boeing 737 MAX 9 Part in Plane Blowout Was Made in Malaysia, Official Says
New details emerge about manufacturing process in harrowing Alaska Airlines flight
WASHINGTON—A Boeing BA 1.28%increase; green up pointing triangle 737 MAX 9 plug door that blew out during a harrowing Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month was manufactured in Malaysia, according to the nation’s top air-safety investigator, who offered new details from the probe into what led to the accident.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Wednesday that SPR 3.65%increase; green up pointing triangleSpirit AeroSystems produced the plug door in Malaysia before it wound up in the Boeing supplier’s Wichita, Kan., factory, and eventually on a train to the plane maker’s 737 factory in Renton, Wash., near Seattle.
Homendy said the safety board’s investigation would delve into the plug door’s production, transport, installation and entry into service—as well as quality checks along the way. The plug door’s origin highlights the complexity of Boeing’s supply chain after years of increased outsourcing of various components’ production. Boeing and Spirit said they are supporting authorities’ investigation into the accident.
“We have no indication right now of where in the process this occurred,” Homendy said after a closed-door briefing with members of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. “This could be anywhere along the line, and we are not just pinpointing manufacturing.”
The Federal Aviation Administration, which grounded about 170 MAX 9 jets after the Alaska blowout and emergency landing, said Wednesday the aircraft would be banned from flying passengers until it evaluated data from inspections of the planes’ plug doors. The agency offered no estimate for when the MAX 9 jets would resume flying.
Alaska and United Airlines have said they found other MAX 9s in their fleets with loose hardware surrounding those jets’ plug doors.
Homendy said Wednesday some bolts on the plug door are supposed to be loose and aren’t meant to be torqued. Instead, she said, they are secured by pins. The NTSB’s metallurgical analysis will be looking for signs of fatigue cracking and corrosion and other potential factors that led to the Alaska blowout, she said.
The FAA also said Wednesday its investigation into Boeing’s manufacturing processes included those involving Spirit, once a unit of the aerospace giant it sold off in 2005.
FAA chief Mike Whitaker told The Wall Street Journal last week “all indications are it’s manufacturing” that led to the Alaska accident, and not a design flaw with the plug door.
Several senators who attended the briefing said the jets might have to remain grounded while the investigation advances. “They need to figure out what caused the problem, because it may be systemic,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D., Montana) in an interview.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said the panel would likely call a hearing to examine the FAA’s oversight of Boeing’s manufacturing. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), the panel’s ranking member, said air-safety officials need to ensure a similar accident doesn’t happen again. “People get on a plane, they expect the doors to stay on,” Cruz said. “Who screwed up—we don’t know.”