(New York) The U.S. Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sanctioned Boeing for its communications surrounding the January 5 incident in which a door on an Alaska Airlines plane came loose in mid-flight, accusing the manufacturer of influencing public opinion.
The facts concern a presentation given Tuesday for a group of journalists by the vice president for quality, Elizabeth Lund, at the Renton (Washington State) plant.
“During this briefing, Boeing portrayed the NTSB investigation [into the January 5 incident] as looking for the individual responsible for installing the door” that was torn off during a plane flight. Alaska Airlines, without causing any casualties, the regulator said in a press release, published Thursday.
But the NTSB says it is instead “interested in the probable cause of the accident, and not in placing blame on an individual or establishing responsibility”.
The agency collected written records and photos that show Boeing employees removed four bolts at these locations during an inspection at the Renton factory before the plane was delivered last October.
The operation was carried out to replace five damaged rivets in the cabin of the aircraft. Other photos taken after the rivets were changed show that in at least three points, bolts had not been reinstalled.
This door was used to block an exit and was not intended to be opened, this model already having enough emergency exits in this configuration.
During her briefing, Ms. Lund took responsibility for the team responsible for closing the door.
“They didn’t reinstall the rivets. It was not their responsibility to do it,” the official said, while specifying that Boeing was not able to identify the employees who should have carried out this task, but did not do so.
The NTSB will also issue a summons to Boeing for a hearing into the incident on August 6 and 7.
“We sincerely regret that our statements have encroached on the prerogatives of the NTSB as a source of information on the investigation,” responded a Boeing spokesperson.
The latter indicated that the elements revealed during the presentation “aimed to clarify our responsibility in the accident and explain the measures we are taking” to remedy possible failures.