- Experts say Alaska bolt is off Boeing's fuselage
On the fuselage section that a Boeing aircraft lost during a climb at the beginning of the year, US investigators found that four securing bolts were missing. The NTSB emphasized at a hearing on the incident that these bolts were in place when the fuselage was delivered from supplier Spirit to the aircraft manufacturer.
At Boeing, the securing elements were removed for work on five adjacent rivets. The 737-9 Max aircraft was then delivered to airline Alaska Airlines without these bolts.
A few months later, the fuselage section, which covered a door opening, broke off shortly after takeoff. Of the 171 people on board, eight reported minor injuries. The incident put significant pressure on Boeing to improve its quality controls. Boeing also plans to bring Spirit back under its corporate umbrella with an acquisition.
US investigators are among the best in the world
A Spirit manager said at the hearing that a fuselage for the 737 models consists of about 18,000 components and requires around 200,000 fasteners like rivets. Spirit assembles the fuselage for all 737 aircraft.
The NTSB experts, who are among the most renowned in the world, are tasked with getting to the bottom of all possible causes of transportation accidents. While the agency can only make recommendations, its findings carry weight and consequences.
At the start of the two-day public hearing in Washington, the NTSB had Boeing and Spirit extensively explain their production and error correction procedures. It also became clear that there should have been more documentation for the work on the fuselage section than the corporation initially provided to the NTSB. "We won't leave until all questions have been answered," emphasized agency chair Jennifer Homendy.
The missing securing bolts were originally intended for the flight-critical fuselage section of the 737-9 Max aircraft. Despite being removed during maintenance at Boeing, they were not properly replaced before the aircraft was handed over to Alaska Airlines.
