KUALA LUMPUR: The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has offered its assistance to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the blown-off door plug of Alaska Airlines 1282.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the CAAM has reached out to the FAA Asia-Pacific office in Singapore following the confirmation that the door plug was made in Malaysia by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday.
"CAAM had proactively reached out to the FAA to offer their assistance following reports that the door plug was confirmed as being made in Malaysia.
"However, they said that they will come back to us should they require assistance."
Loke added that even though the door plug was manufactured in Malaysia, it is a component that falls under the approval of the FAA.
"So even though it is manufactured in Malaysia, the approval of the product is under FAA.
"So we have extended our offers for assistance to them," he told reporters at a press conference after the inauguration of the country's first international cruise homeport, Costa Serena.
Yesterday, the NTSB confirmed that the blown-off door plug of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737 MAX 9 was manufactured in Malaysia.
Its chairman Jennifer Homendy said the door plug was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems in Malaysia before reaching Boeing's supplier in Wichita, Kansas.
From there, she said, the part was sent to the Boeing assembly line in Renton, Washington, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Homendy said the NTSB is looking into how the door plug was manufactured, transported, installed and put into service and will also cover the quality checks throughout the supply chain.