NTSB says Boeing could lose 737 MAX probe status if it violates rules again
Boeing on Thursday it could lose its status as a party to the probe into a 737 MAX mid-air blowout after it violated rules by providing non-public information to media and speculating about possible causes.
In a letter sent to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun late on Thursday, NTSB Office of Aviation Safety Director Timothy LeBaron said an executive's comments this week during a factory tour attended by dozens of journalists «released non-public investigative information and made unsubstantiated speculations about possible causes of the Jan. 5 door plug blowout.»
LeBaron said the NTSB had considered removing Boeing as a party to the probe and added further infractions could lead to Boeing losing its party status, which would bar it from participating in the investigation.
«This disregard of the federal regulations and rules governing NTSB investigations cannot be tolerated,» LeBaron wrote, noting the board had warned Boeing on March 13 about prior company comments.
He added that some of the remarks to media made by Elizabeth Lund, Boeing's senior vice president of quality, were «either inaccurate or unknown to the NTSB» while others had not been previously disclosed.
Boeing declined to comment directly on the letter, referring to an earlier apology it released after the NTSB said it was sanctioning the planemaker over the remarks to media.
The NTSB said Boeing would no longer see information produced during its probe, which involved the mid-air blowout of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 door plug with four missing bolts.
