Boeing Scrutinized by NTSB Over 737 MAX 9 Incident: Key Documents Missing

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has come to loggerheads with Boeing over the company’s purported lack of co-operation following an alarming incident involving a 737 MAX 9 aircraft. On January 5th, the door plug of an Alaska Airlines jet detached mid-flight, a mechanical failure that drew significant safety concerns, although the event resulted in no injuries.

Investigators highlighted the absence of four critical bolts in the assembly of the said component. In response to detailed queries from the NTSB and inquiries from U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Boeing conceded that no paperwork exists cataloguing the removal of the door plug during the production phase. In a recent development, Boeing's Executive Vice President Ziad Ojakli addressed this in a letter, confirming extensive searches had been conducted to no avail. The working hypothesis Boeing is operating under indicates that the required documents likely never came into being at the Renton, Washington factory where the aircraft was assembled.

This stark disclosure follows NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy’s rebuke during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. Homendy characterized Boeing's co-operation as deficient, notably in their failure to procure certain documents concerning the door plug's operational history and to divulge the identities of the maintenance crew responsible for the door plug's upkeep.

The saga escalated as the NTSB made it known through Homendy that they had been attempting to pinpoint the exact production shift and staff linked to the jet's door plug for two months, a struggle brought to the attention of key lawmakers in early February.

The fallout from this incident had real-time ramifications, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to momentarily ground the MAX 9 fleet in January and impose a stricture on Boeing’s increase in the MAX's production rate. They also mandated Boeing to formulate an exhaustive quality control resolution plan to tackle systemic quality control issues within a ninety-day time span.

Subsequent to Homendy’s critique, Boeing submitted the names of 25 workers on the door assembly crew and initiated direct dialogue between Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and Homendy.

In the face of this scrutiny, Boeing has publicly asserted dedication to total and transparent co-operation with the ongoing NTSB investigation. The aircraft manufacturer has also referred to large volumes of records and documentation previously supplied to the board, including the names of various other employees engaged around the aircraft during critical periods of assembly.

Homendy has signaled her intent to convey her viewpoint on Boeing’s collaboration to the Senate via a comprehensive letter, reaffirming the necessity of interviewing the factory workers. "The only way we ensure safety is to find out what happened — what was done, what was not done," Homendy emphasized.

While the NTSB has not issued further comments beyond Homendy's statements, the situation underscores ongoing tension between safety regulators and aviation manufacturers on issues of compliance and transparency, especially in the aftermath of the two deadly 737 MAX crashes that drastically shifted global perspectives on aviation safety.