Source: AFP
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday that it is launching a safety investigation into Boeing following last week’s near-miss incident on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX.
“This incident should never have happened and cannot happen again,” the FAA said in a statement after a panel known as a “door plug” exploded from the plane over the western state of Oregon. USA.
There were no deaths or serious injuries after Alaska Airlines safely made an emergency landing in the Jan. 5 incident, but National Transportation Safety Board investigators said the incident could have resulted in serious harm.
In addition to the incident itself, the FAA also said it was investigating “additional discrepancies on other Boeing 737-9 planes,” according to a letter to the company that gave it 10 days to respond.
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This is a nod to reports by Alaska and United Airlines of “loose” material on surrendered planes found in preliminary investigations of the jets.
“Boeing’s manufacturing practices must conform to the high safety standards it is legally required to meet,” the FAA said in a statement.
The letter cited a statute that requires Boeing to ensure that “completed products” are “in a safe operating condition.”
The agency said Boeing’s response to the FAA should include the “root cause” of the incident, actions to prevent a recurrence and “any extenuating circumstances that you believe may be relevant to this case.”
Boeing said Thursday that it “will cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and NTSB in their investigations.”
US regulators have grounded 171 737 MAX 9 planes with the same configuration as the jet involved in last Friday’s incident.
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Earlier this week, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun took responsibility for the incident, promising “full transparency” as the aviation giant tries to recover from its latest crisis.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Calhoun described the incident as a “quality escape” and said the company is still in fact-finding mode.
“We’re going to want to know what went wrong in our gauntlet of inspections, what went wrong in the original work that allowed this escape to happen,” Calhoun said.
The affected door plug frame is used to fill an unnecessary emergency exit on airplanes, and National Transportation Safety Board investigators have suggested the component was not properly installed.
Boeing shares were down 1.4% in afternoon trading.
Source: AFP