The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is launching a formal investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX 9 after a terrifying incident in which a cabin panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight while in mid-air last week.
At the same time, there are disturbing reports about a lawsuit that alleges a Boeing supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, failed to address “excessive amount of defects” at its plant in Kansas.
Spirit, which has been under scrutiny in the past, made the fuselage and the door plug that blew out of the side of the Alaska Airlines MAX 9.
NPR in the U.S. said the court filings “allege that a former Spirit employee was asked to perform his duties in an "unethical" way that was meant to obscure quality problems. He also accuses Spirit managers of retaliating against him for raising a red flag about the way defects were reported by demoting him.”'
CBS News reports that, while none of the issues flagged in the lawsuit specifically involve door plugs, the claim alleges that Spirit's "quality failures were so severe and persistent that Boeing even placed Spirit on probation for multiple years."
The FAA on 11JAN said the Alaska Airlines MAX 9 incident "should have never happened and it cannot happen again."
The U.S. group last weekend grounded all 737 MAX 9 planes in the U.S. following the incident on 05JAN over Portland, Oregon. Those planes are still grounded, which has meant massive cancellation headaches for Americans, and for some Canadians on flights operated by Alaska and United Airlines, the two U.S. companies that fly the plane.
Some Canadian airlines fly the Boeing 737 MAX 8, but none operate the MAX 9.
Reuters reports that the FAA told Boeing of the investigation in a letter "to determine if Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations" and after learning of "additional discrepancies."
United said it found “loose bolts” when it was inspecting panel doors similar to the one that flew off at 16,000 feet on the Alaska flight.
“We will cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and the NTSB on their investigations," Boeing said in a statement.
The grounding of the MAX 9 is playing havoc with travellers and making it tough on travel advisors. FlightAware.com reports United and Alaska cancelled nearly 350 flights on 09JAN, although not all can be blamed on the grounding order. Weather and other factors could come into play.
For 10JAN and 11JAN, the two U.S. airlines combined for than 700 cancelled flights. Dozens more are already cancelled for 12JAN and nearly 300 already for 13JAN.
