STORY: ::NTSB
U.S. regulators have released their report on the midair blowout last year involving a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines.
And it won’t make easy reading for the aerospace giant.
The National Transportation Safety Board says Boeing failed to provide workers with the training, guidance and oversight that could have prevented the incident.
In comments Tuesday, the Board harshly criticized the firm’s safety culture, and its failure to properly install key bolts when making the jet.
::FILE
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the incident was wholly avoidable, as the plane maker should have addressed production issues identified in internal audits going back a decade or more.
She said it was “nothing short of a miracle” that no one was killed or seriously injured in the blowout.
The accident left Boeing facing deep crisis.
It prompted the Justice Department to open a criminal probe and declare that the firm was in violation of a deferred prosecution deal agreed after earlier fatal crashes.
Regulators also capped output of the MAX while the company worked on improving quality.
Those restrictions remain in place, crimping production of the company’s best-selling model.
Boeing says it regrets the incident and continues to work on strengthening safety and quality.
It’s redesigning the door plug that led to the blowout.
Homendy praised new company chief Kelly Ortberg, but said he had “his work cut out” addressing all the issues.
The NTSB report also criticized the Federal Aviation Administration, saying it should have been aware of problems at the firm.
The FAA has now increased oversight of Boeing, after saying last year that it was too hands-off in monitoring the company.
