PETALING JAYA: The door plug that blew off an Alaskan Airliners jet recently was manufactured in Malaysia by Boeing’s leading supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is the United States federal agency investigating the incident, made this announcement to reporters in Washington following a closed-door briefing for senators.
NSTB chairman Jennifer Homendy was quoted as saying that the door plug was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems in Malaysia before reaching Boeing’s supplier in Wichita, Kansas and her agency will look into how the part was produced and installed on the aircraft as well as quality checks along the way.
“We have no indication right now of where in the process this occurred. This could be anywhere along the line and we are not just pinpointing manufacturing,” said Homendy.
On Jan 5, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon after a panel called a door plug blew out of the side of the plane shortly after takeoff.
The NTSB is investigating the accident, while the FAA investigates whether Boeing and its suppliers followed quality-control procedures.
Separately, officials said airlines have inspected 40 planes identical to the one involved in the accident.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will review information from those inspections of Boeing 737 Max 9 jets while it develops a maintenance process before allowing the planes to fly passengers again.
Boeing’s CEO spent the day visiting Spirit AeroSystems’ headquarters and factory in Wichita, Kansas, and vowed that the two companies will work together to prevent such incidences in the future.
Last Friday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook told reporters that he had not received any information about the “Made in Malaysia” inscription on the door plug.
Although unable to comment at the time, Loke said the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) would look into the matter if the airline concerned submitted a formal report.
This comes after a news portal known as Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) reported how Portland school teacher Bob Sauer allegedly found the door plug that had torn off from the aircraft in his backyard.
OPB reported that Sauer was intrigued to find manufacturing details, including the words “Made in Malaysia,” apparently handwritten on the door in permanent marker.