KUALA LUMPUR: Alaska Airlines' Boeing B737 MAX 9 fuselage panel that blew off mid-flight is reported to be improperly installed by Boeing mechanics although the aircraft part was made in Malaysia.
The Seattle Times, quoting sources, had reported that the mis-instalment of the fuselage panel happened at Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington.
The Washington-based newspaper said if the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that Boeing had improperly installed the aircraft part, it would leave the American plane manufacturer solely responsible for the accident rather than its supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
When contacted by Business Times last week, Boeing said the information on the investigation could only be released by the NTSB.
"As the air safety agency responsible for investigating the accident, only the U.S. NTSB can release information about the investigation. We will defer to them for any information," Boeing's spokesperson told Business Times.
Boeing has come under scrutiny again following Alaska Airlines' emergency landing when a cabin panel blew out of its brand new B737 MAX 9 aircraft shortly after take-off from Portland on Jan 5 this year.
Following the shocking news, NTSB launched an investigation to find out who is responsible for the incident. Some fingers were pointing at Boeing while some at the manufacturer of the fuselage panel, Spirit Aerosystems.
Eyebrows were raised particularly in Malaysia when NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said on Jan 18 that the panel was manufactured by Spirit Aerosystems in Malaysia.
On Jan 19, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the made in Malaysia fuselage panel was approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Homendy said the NSTB will check on the part's production, transportation, installation and entry into service as well as the quality checks.
"We have no indication right now of where in the process this occurred. This could be anywhere along the line, and we're not just pinpointing manufacturing," she said after a closed-door briefing with the Senate Commerce Committee's members recently.
However, The Seattle Times said in its Jan 24 news report quoted an insider saying that the fuselage panel of the Alaska Airlines' B737 MAX 9 aircraft was removed in early January and then reinstalled again by Boeing mechanics.
The newspaper also reported based on a whistleblower's account that the reason that the fuselage panel came off during take-off is stated in Boeing's own records.
The panel is a door plug used to seal a hole in the fuselage to accommodate an emergency exit on the B737 MAX 9 aircraft.
"The four bolts that prevent the door plug from sliding up off the door frame stop pads that take the pressurisation loads in flight were not installed when Boeing delivered the airplane," The Seattle Times quoted the whistleblower.
The sources also were reportedly said that the mechanics' work on the door plug wasn't formally inspected and signed off by a Boeing quality inspector.
On Jan 24, the US FAA had given the green light for US-based airlines to operate their B737 MAX 9 after grounding the planes for some three weeks.
However, the American aviation regulator halted Boeing's planned expansion of its 737 MAX aircraft production.
Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia had issued an instruction to Malaysian-based carriers to conduct a one-time inspection on their B737 MAX aircraft for potential loose or missing fastener on the rudder control system.
Two local airlines that are operating B737 MAX 8 are Malaysia Airlines and Batik Air Malaysia. Both carriers told Business Times that no faulty findings were found during their checks.
Following the Alaska Airlines' incident, Boeing president and chief executive officer Dave Calhoun had acknowledged that a "mistake" had been made and vowed that the incident that happened could never happen again.
"We're going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our mistake. We're going to approach it with 100 per cent and complete transparency every step of the way," he told Boeing's staff in a townhall earlier this month, adding that the company will ensure that every next airplane that moves into the sky is safe.