NEW YORK — Boeing told employees Monday that it plans to increase quality controls on its 737 Max 9 planes, following the failure of an emergency exit door panel on an Alaska Airlines flight last week.
It’s the latest in a series of problems for Boeing, whose reputation as the top U.S. aircraft manufacturer has been tarnished by a series of manufacturing defects that have led some airlines to halt plane purchases or go with their European rival Airbus.
The inspections come after federal regulators grounded the 737 Max, and after Boeing said that after the Alaska Airlines flight and customer complaints it is “clear that we are not where we need to be” in quality assurance and checks.
“Our team is also looking closely at our quality practices at our factories and throughout our manufacturing system,” Stan Deal, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in an email to employees.
Boeing also uses airline customers and independent inspectors to check the plane if necessary, Deal wrote.
One of the two door plugs on an Alaska Max 9 exploded shortly after the plane took off from Portland, Oregon, a week ago, leaving a hole in the plane. The cabin lost pressure and the plane was forced to descend rapidly and return to Portland for an emergency landing. No serious injuries were reported.
Following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration announced last week that it is planning an investigation into whether the manufacturer failed to ensure that a blown-off fuselage panel was safe and manufactured to the design that regulators had approved.
The National Transportation Safety Board is focusing its investigation on plugs used to fill spots for additional doors when those exits are not needed for safety reasons on Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.
The incident involving the Alaska plane is the latest in a series of accidents for Boeing that began in 2018, with the first of two crashes of Max 8 planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia – more than four months apart – killing a total of 346 people came to life. .
Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded worldwide for almost two years after the second crash. Since then, various manufacturing defects have sometimes delayed deliveries of Max jets and a larger Boeing plane, the 787. Last month, the company asked airlines to inspect their Max jets for a loose bolt in the rudder control system.