Transportation board sanctions Boeing for talking to media

Boeing sanctions overview: 

• Who: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced a series of restrictions and sanctions on Boeing. 
• Why: The NTSB said the company “blatantly violated” its investigative regulations by speaking with media about possible causes of a Jan. 5 door-plug blowout on a Boeing passenger jet. 
• Where: The blowout happened on a flight between Portland, Oregon, and Ontario, California. 

The National Transportation Safety Board is imposing restrictions and sanctions on Boeing after the company “blatantly violated” the rules of a federal safety investigation into the cause of a Jan. 5 door plug blowout on a Boeing passenger jet.

Elizabeth Lund, Boeing’s senior vice president of quality, told members of the media that the NTSB’s investigation was at least partly looking to identify who was responsible for the door plug incident, USA Today reports. She spoke to the media while NTSB members were in Ohio looking into the East Palestine railroad crash, the agency said. 

“The fact that one employee could not fill out one piece of paperwork in this condition, and it could result in an accident, was shocking to all of us,” Lund told reporters.

Lund’s statements provided non-public investigative information to the news media that NTSB had not verified or authorized for release, the NTSB said. It also said Lund portrayed the NTSB investigation as “a search to locate the individual responsible for the door plug work.” 

“The NTSB is instead focused on the probable cause of the accident, not placing blame on any individual or assessing liability,” the agency said.

During the Jan. 5 incident, the left mid-exit door plug separated from the 737 Max 9 aircraft. Those on the plane say rapid decompression of the passenger compartment caused phones, seatbacks and passengers’ clothing to be sucked out.

The NTSB said Boeing knew well that it is prohibited from sharing anything about the investigation publicly, as agreed in an agreement the company signed when it was offered party status by the NTSB at the start of the investigation. 

“As a party to many NTSB investigations over the past decades, few entities know the rules better than Boeing,” the NTSB said.

Boeing’s access to investigation information removed

As a result of its breach of the agreement, Boeing will no longer have access to the investigative information the NTSB produces as it builds its record of the accident, the agency said. Boeing will retain its party status. 

The NTSB will also subpoena the company to appear at an investigative hearing into the case scheduled for Aug. 6 and 7 in Washington, D.C. Unlike the other parties in the hearing, Boeing will not be allowed to ask questions of other participants.

Boeing is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice stemming from Boeing MAX 2018 and 2019 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed a total of 346 people. 

Last month, Alaska Airlines passengers traveling on Jan. 5 when the door plug blew out during their flight refiled a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines Inc. and The Boeing Company claiming Boeing’s culture of “cutting corners” put their safety at risk.

What do you think of Boeing’s actions? Let us know in the comments! 

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