Boeing, FAA Share Blame for Door Panel Flying Off During Alaska Airlines Flight: NTSB

‘The safety deficiencies that led to this accident should have been evident to Boeing and to the FAA,’ the NTSB chair said.

The door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282's Boeing 737-9 MAX airplane at the National Transportation Safety Board laboratory in Washington on July 30, 2024. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

The sudden and unprecedented midair door panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight early last year stemmed from failures by Boeing, its supplier SpiritAerosystems, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board said on June 24.

“The truth is, there was a long chain of events that led to the door plug departure. Problems were identified in numerous Boeing internal audits across production lines, employee speak-up reports, quality alerts, and regulatory compliance issues,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a June 24 hearing.