More than half a year after a Boeing lost part of its fuselage in flight, accident investigators are examining the case in a hearing. The focus is on quality controls.
According to US accident investigators, four fastening bolts were missing from the fuselage section that a Boeing aircraft lost during a climb earlier this year. When the fuselage was delivered to the aircraft manufacturer by supplier Spirit, they were still in place, the US accident investigation authority NTSB emphasized at a hearing on the incident.
Boeing then removed the fasteners for rework on five adjacent rivets, it said. The 737-9 Max aircraft was later delivered to Alaska Airlines without the bolts.
A few months later, the fuselage section covering a door opening broke off shortly after takeoff. Of the 171 people on board, eight reported minor injuries. After the incident, the aircraft manufacturer came under massive pressure to improve its quality controls. Boeing also wants to bring Spirit back under the corporate umbrella by taking it over.
US accident investigators are among the best in the world
A Spirit executive told the hearing that a fuselage for the 737 models consists of about 18,000 components and requires about 200,000 fasteners such as rivets. Spirit assembles the fuselage for all 737 aircraft.
The NTSB experts, who are among the most renowned in the world, are tasked with getting to the bottom of all kinds of traffic accidents. Although the agency can only make recommendations, its conclusions still have weight and consequences.
At the start of the two-day public hearing in the capital Washington, the NTSB had Boeing and Spirit explain in detail the production processes and error corrections. It also became clear that there should actually be more documentation on the work on the fuselage section than the company was initially able to provide to the NTSB. “We will not part ways until all questions have been asked,” stressed agency head Jennifer Homendy.
Source: Stern
