Boeing sanctioned over media briefing that 'provided investigative information,' NTSB says
SEATTLE — The National Transportation Safety Board announced sanctions against Boeing on Thursday, saying the media briefing about safety improvements in its plants violated regulations related to the investigation of Alaska Airlines flight 1282.
“During a media briefing Tuesday about quality improvements at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, a Boeing executive provided investigative information and gave an analysis of factual information previously released,” the NTSB said in a statement announcing the sanctions. “Both of these actions are prohibited by the party agreement that Boeing signed when it was offered party status by the NTSB at the start of the investigation. As a party to many NTSB investigations over the past decades, few entities know the rules better than Boeing.”
Elizabeth Lund, Boeing's senior vice president of quality, told members of the media Tuesday that the NTSB’s investigation was at least partly looking to identify who was responsible for the door plug incident.
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“The fact that one employee could not fill out one piece of paperwork in this condition, and it could result in an accident, was shocking to all of us,” she said.
“The who is absolutely in the responsibility of the NTSB. That investigation is still going on and I’m going to not comment on that right now,” Lund added later in response to a reporter’s question.
The NTSB said that’s not what it’s working toward.
“In the briefing, Boeing portrayed the NTSB investigation as a search to locate the individual responsible for the door plug work. The NTSB is instead focused on the probable cause of the accident, not placing blame on any individual or assessing liability,” the agency’s statement said.
As a result of Lund’s disclosures Tuesday, the NTSB is restricting Boeing’s access to materials produced by the ongoing investigation. Boeing will also be subpoenaed to appear at an investigative hearing on Aug. 6 and 7 related to the incident, but will be barred from asking questions of other participants.
The sanctions could also add to Boeing’s ongoing legal headaches.
“Given that Boeing is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in relation to its Deferred Prosecution Agreement stemming from Boeing’s interactions with the FAA prior to the Boeing MAX fatalities, the NTSB will be coordinating with the DOJ Fraud Division to provide details about Boeing’s recent unauthorized investigative information releases in the 737 MAX 9 door plug investigation,” The NTSB statement said.
Boeing acknowledged the NTSB's actions in a statement.
“As we continue to take responsibility and work transparently, we conducted an in-depth briefing on our Safety & Quality Plan and shared context on the lessons we have learned from the January 5 accident," a spokesperson said. "We deeply regret that some of our comments, intended to make clear our responsibility in the accident and explain the actions we are taking, overstepped the NTSB’s role as the source of investigative information. We apologize to the NTSB and stand ready to answer any questions as the agency continues its investigation.”
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boeing sanctioned by NTSB over media briefing in its facilities
