UPDATE 2-Boeing failed to provide training, oversight to prevent MAX 9 mid-air emergency, NTSB says

Boeing failed to provide adequate training, guidance and oversight to prevent a mid-air cabin panel blowout of a new 737 MAX 9 flight in January 2024 that spun the planemaker into a major crisis, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday.

The board criticized Boeing's safety culture and its failure to install four key bolts in a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 during production, as well as ineffective oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a meeting the incident was entirely avoidable because the planemaker should have addressed unauthorized production that was identified in numerous Boeing internal audits, reports and other forums for at least 10 years. "The safety deficiencies that led to this accident should have been evident to Boeing and to the FAA," Homendy said. "It's nothing short of a miracle that no one died or sustained serious physical injuries."

Boeing's on-the-job training was lacking, the NTSB said, adding the planemaker is working on a design enhancement that will ensure the door plug cannot be closed until it's firmly secured

. The accident prompted the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation and declare that Boeing was not in compliance with a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. CEO Dave Calhoun announced he would step down within a few months of the mid-air panel blowout.

Homendy praised new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg but said "he has his work cut out for him, a lot of challenges to address, and that's going to take time." The incident badly damaged Boeing's reputation and led to a grounding of the MAX 9 for two weeks and a production cap of 38 planes per month by the FAA that still remains in place.

Boeing created no paperwork for the removal of the 737 MAX 9 door plug - a piece of metal shaped like a door covering an unused emergency exit - or its re-installation during production, and still does not know which employees were involved, the NTSB said Tuesday. Boeing did not comment ahead of the meeting.

Then FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said in June 2024 the agency was "too hands off" in Boeing oversight and it has boosted the number of inspectors at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems factories. Boeing had agreed last July to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. But it last month struck a deal with the Justice Department to avoid a guilty plea. The Justice Department has asked a judge to approve the deal, which will allow Boeing to avoid pleading guilty or facing oversight by an outside monitor.

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