A US investigating authority strongly reprimanded Boeing for sharing information about an ongoing investigation into a catastrophic aviation incident that should not have been discussed publicly.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that as a result, it would bar Boeing from reviewing information gathered in its investigation.
The NTSB said in a statement late Wednesday that Boeing “clearly violated” investigation rules under an agreement it signed as a party to the probe.
The agency also barred Boeing from asking questions of other participants in a two-day investigative hearing on the matter, which the NTSB will hold in Washington in early August.
The investigation relates to an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft that made an emergency landing on January 5 after a fuselage panel tore off during flight.
Earlier this week, Boeing invited the news media for a tour and briefing on its efforts to improve quality control. An AFP reporter attended the meeting, which was held on Tuesday under an agreement to embargo the information until Thursday morning.
But the NTSB said Boeing had violated the agreement “by providing non-public investigation information to the media and by speculating about possible causes of the Jan. 5 door plug explosion.”
“As evidenced by our involvement in numerous NTSB investigations over the decades, few companies know the rules better than Boeing,” the NTSB said.
Under a party agreement signed by Boeing with the NTSB, the company must send all comments on the Alaska Airlines investigation to the agency.
Boeing apologized to the NTSB, saying it “stands ready to answer any questions while the agency’s investigation continues,” according to a company statement.
“We held in-depth briefings on our safety and quality plan and shared lessons learned from the Jan. 5 accident,” Boeing said.
“We deeply regret that some of our comments, which were intended to clarify our responsibility in the accident and the actions we are taking, infringed upon the NTSB’s role as a source of investigative information.”
what went wrong
In an initial announcement in February, NTSB officials said four bolts securing the door plug were missing. Part of the NTSB investigation is focused on what went wrong.
The NTSB took exception to comments made by Elizabeth Lund, senior vice president for quality at Boeing.
During a session with journalists, Lund discussed aspects related to the work on door plugs.
He added that Boeing is focused on filling the “gaps” created by the lack of documentation and that determining who committed the crime “remains the responsibility of the NTSB and is an ongoing investigation.”
The NTSB responded that “in the briefing, Boeing presented the NTSB investigation as a quest to locate the individual responsible for the door plug function.”
“The NTSB is focusing on the probable cause of the accident, not placing blame on any individual or assessing liability,” the agency said.
The NTSB said it is also “coordinating” with the Justice Department, which plans to announce next steps soon after concluding that Boeing can be prosecuted for violating a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement over the two deadly Max crashes.
The NTSB said it would provide the DOJ with “details regarding unauthorized investigation information recently released by Boeing into the 737 MAX 9 door plug investigation.”
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