Boeing gives Alaska Airlines $61million in credit as compensation for 737 disaster that grounded fleet
Boeing has given Alaska Airlines $61 million in supplier credit notes for the disaster that temporarily grounded a fleet of 737 MAX 9 jets.
The airline suffered a near-catastrophe when a door plug blew out at 16,000 feet on a flight from Oregon on January 5, leading to an emergency landing.
It led to the US Federal Aviation Administration grounding 171 of the 737 MAX 9 jets for about three weeks.
Boeing provided $61 million in supplier credit to Alaska Airlines as additional compensation after handing them $162 million in cash in the first quarter.
The credit notes can be used for future purchases from Boeing, Alaska said in its quarterly report on Friday.
Boeing has given Alaska Airlines $61 million in supplier credits for the disaster that temporarily grounded a fleet of 737 MAX 9 jets
The airline suffered a near-catastrophe when a door plug blew out at 16,000 feet on a flight from Oregon on January 5, leading to an emergency landing
Boeing provided $61 million in supplier credit to Alaska Airlines as additional compensation after handing them $162 million in cash in the first quarter
Boeing is also compensating United Airlines, a prominent customer, to address financial damage from the grounding.
There were 154 Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flights before the Jan. 5 midair emergency.
The previous $162 million provided to the airline equaled the lost revenue, according to an airline filing.
The blowout of Flight 1282 on January 5, as the plane took off from Portland, Oregon, left a gaping hole in the side of the plane and led to extensive federal investigations into Boeing’s manufacturing process.
It also forced United to temporarily suspend service on all 79 of its 737 MAX 9 aircraft, resulting in a $200 million hit in the first quarter.
A report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) states that the January 5 incident was due to the missing four crucial bold letters on the panel that blew out.
An FAA audit of both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems in March “revealed multiple instances in which the companies allegedly failed to meet production quality control requirements.”
There were 154 Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flights before the Jan. 5 midair emergency
Boeing, led by CEO David Calhoun, is also compensating United Airlines, a prominent customer, to address financial damages related to the grounding
The head of the NTSB previously accused Boeing of “failing to cooperate” with the investigation into the January incident.
Jennifer Homendy said investigators looked for the names of the 25 people who work on door plugs at the Renton facility but had not received them from Boeing.
However, Boeing spokesman Connor Greenwood pushed back, insisting that the names of Boeing employees would be provided “early in the investigation.”
Last month, Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer, claimed he was targeted after raising concerns about the quality of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner jets.
“I have even been subjected to threats of violence from my supervisor after attempting to discuss the issues at a meeting on April 9, 2023,” Salehpour said.
“After the meeting, my supervisor said to me, ‘I would have killed anyone who said what you said if it was from any other group, I would tear them apart.’
The engineer said he filed an ethics complaint, but no action was taken, “and I continue to report to a supervisor who has threatened me with bodily harm for speaking out.”
NTSB head Jennifer Homendy (pictured) previously accused Boeing of “failing to cooperate” with the investigation into the January incident
A photo shows three locations (circled) where mounting bolts are missing after the door was removed and then reinstalled during a repair at Boeing’s Renton plant. A fourth location of a suspected missing bolt, top left, is not visible in the photo
The fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing with a hole in the fuselage, is seen during investigation
Salehpour alleged that senior executives at the company excluded him from important meetings and sidelined him in retaliation.
He also presented the committee with a photo of a large nail that was allegedly stuck in his car tire.
“That was a tape about a month old,” he explained. “The nail got stuck in, I think it happened at work.”
Senator Roger Marshall asked if he believed the damaged tape and threats were the company’s attempts to silence him.
“I think the retaliation was someone calling me on my personal phone over and over again. This is my personal phone,” Salehpour said.
‘My boss called me there for 40 minutes, swearing at me and chewing me out. I have a work phone he can use, but he called me on my personal phone.
‘After the threats, and afterwards, it really scares me, believe me. But I’m at peace with it.’
Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, 62 — a former quality control manager and 32-year employee — was found dead in his truck outside a South Carolina hotel in March, days after testifying in a lawsuit against the company.
The coroner put the case down to a ‘self-inflicted’ gunshot wound to the head, although police confirmed they would investigate further.
A second whistleblower, Joshua Dean, died suddenly last month after raising the alarm about alleged defects in 737 Max jets.
The former Spirit employee previously said he was fired from his quality audit role in October 2022 for questioning standards at the supplier’s factory in Wichita, Kansas.
His family said on social media that Dean died in hospital after a sudden illness.