Boeing implies it doesn't have documentation for door plug removal after NTSB slams company for failing to provide records

Boeing recently implied that it does not have documentation pertaining to repair work that required the removal of a door plug that blew out mid-flight, Forbes reported Thursday.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told a Senate Committee on Wednesday that Boeing has failed to turn over records related to an Alaska Airlines plane that experienced a door panel blowout in January. According to Homendy, the government agency has requested a complete list of employees who worked on door assemblies at the company's facility in Renton, Washington.

A preliminary NTSB report revealed that the aircraft may have left the Boeing factory missing all four key bolts meant to secure the door panel. The report noted that the bolts were likely removed in September to conduct repairs to several damaged rivets. Photographs obtained by the agency revealed that the bolts were in place before the repair work.

"Photo documentation obtained from Boeing shows evidence of the left-hand [mid exit door] plug closed with no retention hardware (bolts) in the three visible locations," the report stated. "The investigation continues to determine what manufacturing documents were used to authorize the opening and closing of the left MED plug during the rivet rework."

In February, Homendy told CNN, "There is no way that this plane should have been delivered [to Alaska Airlines] with four safety-critical bolts missing."

NTSB investigators believe that Boeing's employees may have information about why the panel was missing the bolts. The agency's preliminary report stated that it is still attempting to "to determine what manufacturing documents were used to authorize the opening and closing of the left MED plug during the rivet rework."

According to regulatory requirements, work records must be retained to provide documentation to auditors and investigators.

"It is absurd that two months later we don't have it," Homendy told senators, referring to the documentation.

Boeing claims it has cooperated with the NTSB, including providing a list of employees who may have additional information.

"We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request," the company said. "Early in the investigation, we provided the NTSB with names of Boeing employees, including door specialists, who we believed would have relevant information."

However, the airplane manufacturer also implied that it does not have documentation to provide to the NTSB.

"With respect to documentation, if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share," Boeing stated. "Since the first moments following the Alaska Airlines flight 1282 accident, we have worked proactively and transparently to fully support the NTSB's investigation."

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