Boeing F%$#ed Up Again

This is not a safety issue per se, but rather a sales weasel releasing embargoed data to the press about the door blowing off the 737 without notifying the NTSB.

This is safety investigation 101, and as a result, the NTSB has rescinded Boeing's access to the investigation data as a result:

The National Transportation Safety Board late Wednesday offered a sharp rebuke of Boeing after learning the company held a media event on June 25 with around four dozen U.S. and international journalists inside its Renton, Washington factory, which included brief comments about Alaska Airlines 1282.

Boeing is a party to the NTSB’s investigation of the Jan. 5 accident, which occurred when a plug exit violently departed a newly built 737 Max 9 soon after takeoff from Portland International Airport in Oregon. Preliminary information indicates that the bolts designed to hold the exit in place were not on the airplane when it left Boeing’s factory in Renton.

“During a media briefing Tuesday about quality improvements at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, a Boeing executive provided investigative information and gave an analysis of factual information previously released,” the board said in a statement to The Air Current. “Both of these actions are prohibited by the party agreement that Boeing signed when it was offered party status by the NTSB at the start of the investigation. As a party to many NTSB investigations over the past decades, few entities know the rules better than Boeing.”

In an unusual step, the NTSB is taking action against the plane maker for its comments, including removing its access to the docket of information gathered through the investigation. The NTSB will subpoena any relevant records from Boeing, and the plane maker will not be given the opportunity to ask questions of witnesses at the planned August hearing into the accident. Boeing remains a party to the investigation.

Additionally, the NTSB said, “Given that Boeing is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in relation to its Deferred Prosecution Agreement stemming from Boeing’s interactions with the FAA prior to the Boeing MAX fatalities, the NTSB will be coordinating with the DOJ Fraud Division to provide details about Boeing’s recent unauthorized investigative information releases in the 737 MAX 9 door plug investigation.”

This is the first time ever that I have heard of the NTSB referring something to the DoJ.

Generally, the Bureau is loathe to involve criminal authorities in their investigation.  They believe that that doing so will prevent cooperation, and hence prevent safety lessons.

It appears that the NTSB is sick and tired of Boeing's bullsh%$.  

Not a good look.