The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US has formally launched an investigation of Boeing’s practices, after a door plug blew off one of the manufacturer’s aircraft.
All 171 passengers and six crew aboard an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to California escaped unharmed when part of the fuselage on a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft blew out at 16,000 feet last week (January 5).
The aircraft landed safely, but the incident would have been more serious had the aircraft reached its cruising altitude, passengers unfastened their seatbelts and two seats next to the lost fuselage not been empty.
The FAA said in a statement: “This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again.
“FAA formally notified Boeing that it is conducting an investigation to determine if Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations.
“This investigation is a result of an incident on a Boeing Model 737-9 MAX where it lost a ‘plug’ type passenger door and additional discrepancies.
“Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet.
“The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”
The FAA had already grounded most of the 737 Max 9 fleet for inspection.
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The FAA followed up this announcement by saying it will also launch “new and significant actions to immediately increase its oversight of Boeing production and manufacturing”.
These include the FAA conducting an audit involving the Boeing 737-9 Max production line and its suppliers to evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures.
It will also increase monitoring of Boeing 737-9 Max in-service events, and assess safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight.
The FAA will examine options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.
Mike Whitaker, FAA administrator, said: “It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks.
“The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk. The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing’s inspections and its quality system.”