Mon. Jul 8th, 2024

US officials say 40 Boeing planes have been inspected as investigations into the mid-air explosion continue.<!-- wp:html --><div> <div class="article-gallery lightGallery"> <div> <p> This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. A panel used to cover an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger plane exploded on January 5, shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport. Portland. Credit: National Transportation Safety Board via AP </p> </div> </div> <p>Federal officials briefed a congressional committee on their investigations into a passenger plane that lost a panel from its fuselage in mid-flight this month and revealed that airlines have inspected 40 identical Boeing planes.</p> <p>The Federal Aviation Administration said it will review information from those inspections of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes as it develops a maintenance process before allowing the planes to carry passengers again.</p> <p>Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker spent two hours briefing members of the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington on Wednesday as questions continue to arise about how the panel An Alaska Airlines plane exploded while traveling at 16,000 feet. above Oregon. Officials indicated their separate investigations into Boeing and the crash are in the early stages.</p> <p>“Nothing was said about sanctions or enforcement, but when there is a final outcome, I have no doubt there will be consequences,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in an interview after the closed-door session. .</p> <p>Moran said Whitaker indicated that the FAA is focusing “on the challenges that Boeing has faced over a longer period of time, of which this incident, this potential disaster, was just one component.”</p> <p>During the briefing, “there was also interest in trying to ensure that the FAA is doing its oversight job,” Moran said.</p> <p>The FAA and NTSB declined to comment on the briefing.</p> <p>Separately, Homendy said his agency will investigate how exactly Spirit AeroSystems produced the panel and installed it on the Alaska Airlines plane. After the briefing, he told reporters that the panel was manufactured in Malaysia by Boeing’s main supplier.</p> <p> <!-- TechX - News - In-article --></p> <p>That development puts more attention on Boeing’s global supply chain. Over a period of many years, the company outsourced much of its manufacturing.</p> <p>A Spirit AeroSystems spokesperson confirmed that the plug was manufactured in Malaysia and said the company is committed to cooperating with the NTSB.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Boeing CEO David Calhoun spent the day visiting the Spirit AeroSystems factory in Wichita, Kansas. He promised that the two companies will work together to “improve.”</p> <p>Calhoun and Spirit CEO Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and acting U.S. defense secretary whose nomination by President Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon failed, met with about 200 Spirit employees as the companies called a town hall.</p> <p>“We’re going to get better” because Boeing and Spirit engineers and mechanics “will learn from it and then apply it to literally everything we do together,” Calhoun said.</p> <p>Shanahan told workers that by working with the NTSB, FAA, airlines and Boeing, “we will restore trust.”</p> <p>The CEO meeting came as both companies face scrutiny over the quality of their work.</p> <p>An Alaska Airlines Max 9 was forced to make an emergency landing on January 5 after a panel called a door plug came off the side of the plane shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.</p> <p>The NTSB is investigating the crash, while the FAA is investigating whether Boeing and its suppliers followed quality control procedures.</p> <p>Alaska and United Airlines, the only other U.S. airline flying the Max 9, reported finding loose hardware in the door plugs of other planes they inspected after the crash. Both airlines have canceled hundreds of flights while their Max 9s are grounded.</p> <p>Boeing shares gained 1% on Wednesday but have fallen 18% since the accident, making the Arlington, Virginia, company the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over that span.</p> <p class="article-main__note mt-4"> </p><p> © 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. </p> <p> <!-- print only --></p> <div class="d-none d-print-block"> <p> <strong>Citation</strong>: US officials say 40 Boeing planes have been inspected as investigations into midair explosion continue (2024, January 18) retrieved January 18, 2024 from https://techxplore.com/news/2024-01- boeing-jets-midair-blowout.html </p> <p> This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for private study or research purposes, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only. </p> </div> </div><!-- /wp:html -->

This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. A panel used to cover an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger plane exploded on January 5, shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport. Portland. Credit: National Transportation Safety Board via AP

Federal officials briefed a congressional committee on their investigations into a passenger plane that lost a panel from its fuselage in mid-flight this month and revealed that airlines have inspected 40 identical Boeing planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it will review information from those inspections of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes as it develops a maintenance process before allowing the planes to carry passengers again.

Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker spent two hours briefing members of the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington on Wednesday as questions continue to arise about how the panel An Alaska Airlines plane exploded while traveling at 16,000 feet. above Oregon. Officials indicated their separate investigations into Boeing and the crash are in the early stages.

“Nothing was said about sanctions or enforcement, but when there is a final outcome, I have no doubt there will be consequences,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in an interview after the closed-door session. .

Moran said Whitaker indicated that the FAA is focusing “on the challenges that Boeing has faced over a longer period of time, of which this incident, this potential disaster, was just one component.”

During the briefing, “there was also interest in trying to ensure that the FAA is doing its oversight job,” Moran said.

The FAA and NTSB declined to comment on the briefing.

Separately, Homendy said his agency will investigate how exactly Spirit AeroSystems produced the panel and installed it on the Alaska Airlines plane. After the briefing, he told reporters that the panel was manufactured in Malaysia by Boeing’s main supplier.

That development puts more attention on Boeing’s global supply chain. Over a period of many years, the company outsourced much of its manufacturing.

A Spirit AeroSystems spokesperson confirmed that the plug was manufactured in Malaysia and said the company is committed to cooperating with the NTSB.

Meanwhile, Boeing CEO David Calhoun spent the day visiting the Spirit AeroSystems factory in Wichita, Kansas. He promised that the two companies will work together to “improve.”

Calhoun and Spirit CEO Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and acting U.S. defense secretary whose nomination by President Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon failed, met with about 200 Spirit employees as the companies called a town hall.

“We’re going to get better” because Boeing and Spirit engineers and mechanics “will learn from it and then apply it to literally everything we do together,” Calhoun said.

Shanahan told workers that by working with the NTSB, FAA, airlines and Boeing, “we will restore trust.”

The CEO meeting came as both companies face scrutiny over the quality of their work.

An Alaska Airlines Max 9 was forced to make an emergency landing on January 5 after a panel called a door plug came off the side of the plane shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.

The NTSB is investigating the crash, while the FAA is investigating whether Boeing and its suppliers followed quality control procedures.

Alaska and United Airlines, the only other U.S. airline flying the Max 9, reported finding loose hardware in the door plugs of other planes they inspected after the crash. Both airlines have canceled hundreds of flights while their Max 9s are grounded.

Boeing shares gained 1% on Wednesday but have fallen 18% since the accident, making the Arlington, Virginia, company the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over that span.

© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Citation: US officials say 40 Boeing planes have been inspected as investigations into midair explosion continue (2024, January 18) retrieved January 18, 2024 from https://techxplore.com/news/2024-01- boeing-jets-midair-blowout.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for private study or research purposes, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.

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