Boeing Door Plug Removal Footage Was Overwritten, Says Safety Agency

Boeing’s video footage displaying precisely who labored on the 737 Max 9 door that flew off an Alaska Airlines flight has been erased, and the NTSB believes the corporate’s making an attempt to cover the knowledge.

National Transportation Safety Board chairman, Jennifer Homendy, wrote a letter Wednesday to the Senate Commerce Committee … saying they’re nonetheless in the dead of night about which Boeing staff have been concerned within the door’s restore. They had requested the checklist of names when the preliminary report into the investigation revealed the door had no bolts through the mid-flight scare on January 5.

Homendy accused Boeing of obstructing their investigation … telling Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, “We nonetheless don’t have any clue who did the work to open, reinstall, and shut the door plug on the accident plane.” She added, “Boeing has knowledgeable us that they’re unable to seek out the information documenting this work.”

During her testimony earlier than the SCC earlier this month, Homendy clarified Boeing solely offered a listing of staff who report back to the door crew supervisor, however not precisely who had labored on the door plug in query.

In her letter, Homendy says she then reached out to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to acquire the names, however he knowledgeable her he could not present that information, sustaining Boeing had no information of the work being accomplished.

Homendy says the absence of these names has resulted in a irritating roadblock within the NTSB’s investigation — and she or he clarifies they don’t seem to be looking for the names for punitive causes, and can safeguard the identities of the staff concerned.

You’ll keep in mind … the Boeing plane needed to make an emergency touchdown in Portland after one in every of the cabin home windows blew out, inflicting a terrifying scene with belongings of frightened passengers being sucked out.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci introduced on the time the corporate could be grounding its fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 plane briefly for an intensive inspection and upkeep as a precautionary measure. By the top of the month, they obtained the all-clear to renew flights.

However, former Boeing high quality supervisor John Barnett got here on “TMZ Live” to make it clear he disagreed with that call … as a result of he claimed Boeing was ignoring important security issues.

Barnett had even taken his struggle towards Boeing a step additional by submitting a lawsuit, alleging retaliation for his whistleblowing efforts. He sat for a deposition within the solid final week, and the very subsequent day he was discovered useless … allegedly by suicide.