By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will question key witnesses from Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems and the Federal Aviation Administration on the mid-air cabin panel blowout of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 door plug in January.
During the start of its two-day investigative hearing, the board also plans to release documents including factual reports and exhibits from the ongoing investigation.
The incident badly damaged Boeing’s reputation and led to the MAX 9 being grounded for two weeks, a ban by the FAA on expanding production, a criminal investigation and the departure of several key executives. Boeing has vowed to make key quality improvements.
Boeing’s senior vice president for quality, Elizabeth Lund, and Doug Ackerman, vice president of supplier quality for Boeing, are among those who will testify during the hearings scheduled to last 20 hours over two days, the NTSB said.
Terry George, senior vice president and general manager for Boeing Program at Spirit AeroSystems, and Scott Grabon, a senior director for 737 quality at Spirit, which makes the fuselage for the MAX, will also appear, it added.
Last month Boeing agreed to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, whose core plants it spun off in 2005, for $4.7 billion in stock.
The hearing will review issues including 737 manufacturing and inspections, safety management and quality management systems, FAA oversight, and issues surrounding the opening and closing of the door plug.
Boeing has said no paperwork exists to document the removal of four key missing bolts.
Boeing and the FAA declined comment. A Spirit spokesperson said the company “is fully committed to cooperating with the NTSB in its investigation into this incident”.
In June, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said the agency was “too hands off” in its oversight of Boeing before January.
Also in June, the NTSB said Boeing violated investigation rules when Lund provided non-public information to media and speculated about possible causes.
The NTSB said Boeing would no longer see information produced during the probe and, unlike other parties, will not be allowed to ask questions of other participants during the hearing.
Last month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of at least $243.6 million to resolve a Justice Department investigation into two 737 MAX fatal crashes.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Miral Fahmy)
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