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After a door plug blew out on a Boeing 737 Max 9 this January, the National Transportation Safety Board sprung into action trying to get to the bottom of what happened and why. That inquiry is continuing this week with a series of hearings designed to more fully understand
“After the hearing, the NTSB will use the information gathered to complete the investigation, determine probable cause, and make recommendations to improve transportation safety,” the agency said. Of special concern is why four crucial bolts that were supposed to secure the door plug — a piece of fuselage that covers up an unused emergency exit — went missing during the plane’s construction.
The blowout has hurled Boeing into chaos, tanking its stock price and prompting its CEO to announce his retirement at the end of the year.
In the first day of hearings on Tuesday, the NTSB spoke to representatives from Boeing, newly reacquired fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union about how the 737 Max 9 was assembled, what happened with the door plug blowout, Boeing’s safety and quality management systems, and how the company was overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Elizabeth Lund, an executive at Boeing, said the company has implemented some updates to its planes since the incident, including an important one that it plans to retrofit to older builds.
“They’re working on some design changes that will allow the plug to not be closed if there’s any issue until it is fully secured,” she said.
The hearings will be continuing Wednesday.