By Jerald Jimenez
06 Aug 2024, 17:37 PM EDT
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will begin a two-day hearing on Tuesday focused on the explosion of the door stopper of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX in January of this year.
The hearing will feature senior executives from Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, who will testify about the manufacturing, inspection and events surrounding the plane’s mid-exit door plug. The NTSB is seeking to determine the facts and probable cause of the accident.
Boeing’s senior vice president of commercial airplane quality, Elizabeth Lund, will be one of the key witnesses on the first day of the hearing. She will address issues related to the plane’s manufacturing, inspections and the events leading up to the opening and closing of the mid-exit door plug, according to the agenda released by the NTSB.
Additionally, Terry George, senior vice president and general manager of Boeing Programs at Spirit AeroSystems, and Scott Grabon, senior director of 737 quality at Spirit, will also testify. Spirit AeroSystems is responsible for manufacturing the MAX fuselage.
Boeing agreed in July to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, a company it spun off in 2005, for $4.7 billion in stock. The move comes amid a series of challenges and criticisms Boeing has faced over the safety and quality of its planes.
The NTSB said it would subpoena the company to appear at this week’s hearing in Washington, D.C., and said Boeing would not be allowed to question other participants.
“We deeply regret that some of our comments, intended to make clear our responsibility for the accident and explain the actions we are taking, exceeded the NTSB’s role as a source of information for the investigation,” the company told Fox Business. “We apologize to the NTSB and stand ready to answer any questions as the agency continues its investigation.”
The door stopper explosion caused a “rapid decompression,” according to the NTSB. The flight returned to Portland without further incident afterward, and the plane landed safely with 171 passengers and six crew members on board. Eight people suffered minor injuries.
With information from Fox Business