A piece of the panel from a Boeing 737 Max that blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight was presented to the media at the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) laboratory in Washington. This panel will play a crucial role in a two-day investigative hearing scheduled for next week.
Since the incident on Jan. 5, federal investigators have been examining the mid exit door plug. The panel blew off when the plane was at 16,000 feet and climbing towards cruise altitude. It was later found in a backyard near Portland, Oregon.
A preliminary report by the NTSB revealed that four bolts used to secure the part were missing when the plane left the Boeing factory near Seattle before being delivered to Alaska Airlines.
Door plugs are panels that seal holes left for extra doors when the number of seats does not require more emergency-evacuation exits. They appear as regular windows from inside the plane and are meant to be opened only for maintenance and inspections.
The panel on the Alaska Airlines plane was initially installed at a Spirit AeroSystems plant in Wichita, Kansas, but was later removed at the Boeing plant for repairs on damaged rivets.
The NTSB plans to utilize the information gathered during the hearing on Aug. 6 and 7 to complete its investigation of the incident and issue safety recommendations.
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