Much to the chagrin and anger of the National
Transportation Safety Board, the Boeing Company said it could not provide
written documentation as to who worked on the ill-fated Alaska Airlines jet
that lost a door panel in midflight in January.
Now Boeing says a work order for the bolts that held the
panel in place was
missing.
The airplane manufacturer is essentially admitting that a
critical component in the construction of the plane never happened. Now the NTSB, which along with other government agencies
is investigating Boeing for its protocols and safety practices, is critical of
the company for even making such a public admission.
“During
a media briefing Tuesday about quality improvements… a Boeing executive
provided investigative information and gave an analysis of factual information
previously released. Both of these actions are prohibited,” the NTSB said.
Boeing can no longer have access to information
generated by the NTSB during its investigation, the agency said.
“As
a party to many NTSB investigations over the past decades, few entities know
the rules better than Boeing,” the NTSB said.
Boeing
said it was just trying to be as transparent as possible in the investigation
but NTSB Office of Aviation Safety Director Timothy LeBaron said it was done
without the consent or knowledge of the NTSB.
“Boeing
must take all reasonable steps to ensure that investigative information is
protected from public release,” he wrote. “Such a release or withholding of
critical information from our investigators are blatant violations of NTSB’s
regulations.”
“We
deeply regret that some of our comments, intended to make clear our
responsibility in the accident and explain the actions we are taking,
overstepped the NTSB’s role as the source of investigative information,” said
Boeing in a statement. “We apologize to the NTSB and stand ready to answer any
questions as the agency continues its investigation.”
United
States Senator Maria Cantwell has been highly
critical of Boeing over missing paperwork.
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