Malaysian supplier provided Boeing with part that blew off Alaska Airlines jet

The US transport safety board said the panel that blew out of an Alaska Airlines jetliner this month was manufactured in Malaysia by Spirit AeroSystems

An Alaska Airlines Max 9 jet had to make an emergency landing on January 5 after a door plug blew out of the side of the plane soon after take-off

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An opening is seen in the fuselage of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX on January 7. Photo: NTSB/Getty Images/TNS)

Published: 5:00pm, 18 Jan 2024

The panel that blew out of an Alaska Airlines jetliner this month was manufactured in Malaysia by Boeing’s leading supplier, the head of the agency investigating the incident said on Wednesday.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said her agency will look into how the part was produced by Spirit AeroSystems and installed on the plane. She made the comments to reporters in Washington after a closed-door briefing for senators.

A spokesman for Spirit AeroSystems confirmed that the plug was made in Malaysia and said the company is committed to cooperating with the NTSB.

Separately, officials said airlines have inspected 40 planes identical to the one involved in the accident. The Federal Aviation Administration said it will review information from those inspections of Boeing 737 Max 9 jets while it develops a maintenance process before letting the planes carry passengers again.

Boeing’s CEO spent the day visiting Spirit AeroSystems’ headquarters and factory in Wichita, Kansas, and vowed that the two companies will work together to “get better.”

In Washington, Homendy and FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker spent two hours briefing members of the Senate Commerce Committee. The officials indicated that their separate investigations of Boeing and the accident are in the early stages.

Spirit AeroSystems assembled the part that blew out of the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9. Photo: TNS

“Nothing was said about penalties or enforcement, but when there is an end result, I have no doubt but that there will be consequences,” said Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican.