Earlier this month, news of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines plane blowing off midflight went viral online.
Soon after, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States (US) launched an investigation into the matter.
The board revealed that Spirit AeroSystems in Malaysia manufactured the door plug before Boeing’s supplier in Wichita, Kansas received it.
According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Spirit AeroSystems in Malaysia manufactured the door plug that blew out on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 on 5 Jan.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, said that the board would continue to investigate the plug’s production, transport, installation, and entry into service, in addition to quality checks conducted on it.
Source: Reuters
She was speaking to local media after giving a closed-door briefing on the investigation to members of the Senate Commerce Committee on 17 Jan.
Senators who were at the briefing said the jets should remain grounded until investigations reveal the root cause behind the blow-out.
US Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell noted that there could be a hearing looking into the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) supervision of Boeing’s manufacturing.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz also said similar accidents in the future should be prevented.
However, he was uncertain about who was responsible for the incident in question.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke addressed the findings at a press conference in Port Klang on 19 Jan, FMT reported.
Source: Datuk P Gunaseelan on Facebook
He said that the door plug received approval from the FAA before it was transported to Boeing’s supplier in Wichita.
“Although it was manufactured in Malaysia, in terms of the approval of the product, it was done by the FAA,” he clarified.
Regardless, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) offered the FAA its help as it continued to investigate the matter.
“[The FAA] have told us that if they need any assistance from us, they will inform us,” he added.
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Featured image adapted from @AlexFromEW on X and NTSB via The Associated Press on The Seattle Times.
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