The US imposes sanctions on Boeing for leaking information about the 737 Max 9 probe to the media
Boeing has not yet commented on the development. (Representative image)
Boeing is being punished by US investigators for sharing information about a federal investigation into a door plug blowout that left a gaping hole in a Boeing 737 Max 9.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday that Boeing flagrantly violated the agency’s investigative rules and a signed agreement by providing non-public investigative information to the media and speculating about possible causes of the door plug blowout on 5 January to a Boeing passenger. jet plane in Portland, Oregon.
During the incident, a panel that closed off the space for an additional emergency door blew an Alaska Airlines Max 9 off the plane. The pilots were able to land safely and no injuries were reported.
The NTSB said a Boeing executive provided non-public investigative information to the media during a media briefing on Tuesday about the Alaska Airlines incident, which the agency had not verified or approved for release.
The NTSB said Boeing has portrayed the NTSB’s investigation as a search for the person responsible for the door plug work, but the agency said it is focusing on the probable cause of the accident, and is not placing blame on any individual or assessing liability.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.
Because of Boeing’s recent actions, Boeing will retain its party status but will no longer have access to the investigative information the NTSB produces as it develops the factual data from the accident, the agency said in a prepared statement.
The NTSB said it can subpoena any relevant records it needs during the investigation. It will also subpoena Boeing to appear at an investigative hearing in Washington DC on August 6 and 7.
The agency says that Boeing, unlike other parties, cannot ask questions to other participants.
The NTSB said it will cooperate with the Justice Department’s Fraud Division and provide them with information regarding Boeing’s recent unauthorized investigative information related to the 737 Max 9 door plug investigation.
In May, the Justice Department told a federal judge that Boeing had violated a settlement that allowed the company to avoid criminal charges following two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max plane.
It is now up to the Justice Department to decide whether to file charges against Boeing. Prosecutors will tell the court no later than July 7 how they plan to proceed, the ministry said at the time.
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First print: June 27, 2024 | 6:32 PM IST