Hearing into Alaska Airlines Door Plug Incident Begins

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Facts

• The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing on the Jan. 5 incident where the door plugs on an Alaska Airlines flight blew out midair entered its second day on Wednesday, and included testimony on the Boeing 737 Max 9 and the company's safety and manufacturing practices.^[1]
• On Tuesday, executives from Spirit Aero, the company that produces fuselages for the 737 MAX, and Boeing vice president Elizabeth Lund answered questions from the NTSB, union officials, and Alaska Air in a hearing that lasted 10 hours.^[2]
• Records from Boeing indicate that Spirit employees replaced rivets around the door in September 2023, with NTSB evidence claiming that the door plugs were closed without three needed bolts. Lund says that authorization for the removal of the plugs couldn't be found.^[3]
• Lund said that the missing documentation meant that other workers were unaware that bolts were needed. Testimony from employees of the company and contractors allege rushed conditions have lead to an increase in mistakes and defects.^[4]
• NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy alleged that Boeing's safety culture 'needs a lot of work,' with Lund saying that design changes are set to be implemented this year to resolve concerns regarding the door plugs. A Boeing executive claimed that fuselages from Spirit were rife with quality control issues.^[5]
• Boeing pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud in the aftermath of the incident, with the Justice Dept. saying that the company didn't meet the terms of a prior regulatory settlement. Boeing director of quality, Hector Silva, said at the hearing that the company is 'committed' to improving its safety practices.^[1][4]

Sources: ^[1]Newsnationnow, ^[2]Seattletimes, ^[3]ABC News, ^[4]CNN and ^[5]Reuters.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Le Monde.fr. Boeing's reputation has been shred to tatters, with this hearing exposing the pervasive inattention to safety and quality that has led to numerous accidents. The plethora of evidence suggests that Alaska Air was no one off, and serious course corrections are needed. Boeing cannot be trusted to self-regulate, and greater intervention from regulators is sorely needed.
• Narrative B, as provided by Wsj. Boeing's manufacturing practices are absolutely standard for an industry of such complexity, and it is the sprawling decentralization of aviation that has made air travel so safe and affordable. There are criticisms to be made of the company's fast-paced culture, but they harbor no systemic issues, and their maligned manufacturing processes are actually to our benefit.