Boeing: Investigation after near-miss reveals missing components

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The Boeing 737 Max 9: Around 170 aircraft of the type had to remain on the ground for investigations after the incident

Photo: Jason Redmond / REUTERS

About a month after a fuselage part of a Boeing 737 Max 9 came off in flight, US accident investigators have made new findings public. According to the responsible investigative authority, the necessary fastening parts were missing from the torn out piece of cabin.

A total of four securing bolts were missing from the fuselage of the aircraft in question, according to the US Transportation Authority NTSB in a preliminary report. According to the investigators, this can be seen from the condition of the fragment and the adjacent fuselage elements.

Boeing has been heavily criticized since the accident. And the traffic authority's finding is likely to increase the pressure on the manufacturer to drastically improve quality controls. At the same time, the NTSB did not yet draw any conclusions about the cause of the dramatic incident.

The US aviation authority had ordered a flight ban for the type

On January 5th, shortly after take-off, a part of the fuselage broke off in the climb of the almost new 737-9 Max from Alaska Airlines with more than 170 people on board. Instead, some configurations of the more seat type have a door. The affected variant of the 737-9 Max instead has a cover that closes the opening.

After the incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other authorities ordered all 170 similar aircraft of the type to be grounded for investigations. Alaska and United Airlines also found loose fasteners in the area on other planes.

It was only at the end of January that the FAA released the procedure for inspections, after which the aircraft were allowed to take off again - almost all of them are now back in use. No aircraft of the affected model are in use by EU airlines.

After the incident, the FAA announced stricter controls at Boeing - and some airlines also want to send their own inspectors to the production lines. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun admitted responsibility for the incident and assured that the company would improve quality oversight. The fuselage of the 737 models is built by the supplier Spirit Aerosystems and then comes to Boeing for final assembly.

spr/dpa