Boeing faces formal inquiry into mid-flight door blowout

THE US aviation watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Boeing after the mid-flight door blowout last week.

The Federal Aviation Authority said yesterday that the incident on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 “should have never happened and it cannot happen again”.

The blowout involved a refrigerator-sized “plug” passenger door falling out of the plane along with “additional discrepancies” so far found.

The FAA said the investigation would “determine if Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations”.

It added that “Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet”.

In a letter to the manufacturer explaining its decision, it noted: “Boeing may have failed to ensure its completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in accordance with quality system inspection and test procedures.” Boeing shares, which are down nearly 10pc since the accident, fell 1.2pc during trading yesterday.

The move follows the watchdog’s decision, on Jan 6, to order the grounding of 171 similar planes, mainly used for internal American flights, to allow for enhanced inspection. Alaska and United, which operate most of the affected planes, have said they have found loose parts on multiple grounded aircraft during preliminary checks.

The company said it would “cooperate fully and transparently” with the investigation. On Wednesday, its chief executive, Dave Calhoun, told staff: “We’re going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our mistake. We’re going to approach it with 100pc and transparency every step of the way.”

Michael O’leary, the Ryanair chief executive, told Reuters yesterday that the accident was not translating into concern from customers.

He said: “We see no indication of any passenger concern ... not one passenger. We ourselves have found minor issues on aircraft deliveries that shouldn’t be occurring in a world-class manufacturer like Boeing and I think Boeing have more to do on the quality control side.”