The NTSB investigating Alaska Airlines flight 1282
Flight 1282
On January 5th of last year, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 had just taken off over Portland Oregon when suddenly and without warning, a rear door plug was ripped from its hinges, flying off the plane. Passengers were terrified, and those near the door were just a seatbelt away from being sucked out of the plane and killed. The aircraft circled and made an emergency landing, but this was just the beginning, and a harbinger for worse news to come- the stage was now set for Boeing’s turbulent year.
The case grew national attention, and thus a demand for answers followed. Boeing had experienced issues in the past, grounding all of their 737 models in 2017 after a pair of crashes, and recalling the 787 models in 2021 after reported electrical issues. These unfortunate events, coupled with a dive in flight-taking rates during the pandemic had hurt Boeing greatly, optically and financially, leaving them at a mere 184 total orders of all planes in 2020. That said, the American company has remained among the highest suppliers for commercial aircrafts around the world and proved their resiliency, getting back up to a gross of 1,456 orders in 2023, the highest since 2014. All in all, Boeing was on the rise, and at this point, desperate to stay there.
After the January 5th incident, 8 different lawsuits were filed by passengers onboard the flight, and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) underwent an investigation in which it found that there were four bolts missing that were integral to holding the door in place, allowing it to be ripped off the vessel after passing 10,000 feet. Boeing did not offer much as far as statements at this time, but they did ground the 65 other 737 Max 9’s. It wasn’t until the end of the month that the planes were able to fly again, but at this point, customers were hesitant.
Company Shakeups
In the following months, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the NTSB began to increase their pressure on Boeing, with several reports and public releases given about the January 5th incident. One in particular found that crucial rivets on the craft’s door had been replaced that previous September, but four were left out of the reinstallment process, leading to a lack of proper support in the doorframe. This uptick in attention surrounding the incident led to the resignation of the head of the 737 Max program in late February. The demand for answers, however, did not end there.
Before March had even begun there was already an ultimatum set in place by the FAA; Boeing was given 90 days to devise a plan regarding their quality control with intimidating legal implications if they failed to comply. This was on top of the already intense and fierce investigation undergone by the NTSB, which would soon begin to release information about Boeing’s fundamental mishandling of company-wide responsibilities, but most importantly, a lack of transparency with the investigators. In specific, Boeing was beginning to have a history of not releasing information on who was responsible for the replacement of the door plug, and now the question loomed heavily. The NTSB shared their frustration to the republic, remarking that it had been two months since the question was presented. In the midst of all the chaos, however, a white hot headline cut through the noise: John Barnett, a former quality manager in a Charleston Boeing Plant, who was in a years long legal battle with Boeing, was found dead.
The Whistleblowers
From a purely image-based perspective, this was the worst thing that could have happened to Boeing; given that the timing was undeniably ill, it wasn’t long before speculation ran untamed. By now the Boeing situation was household knowledge. The significance of John Barnett’s passing via self inflicted gunshot wound, was no doubt amplified by the fact that since his retirement in 2017, he had been pursuing prolonged legal action against the company surrounding the very issues that were being investigated in 2024. He was yet to present his complaints in court when he passed. He specifically pointed out that Boeing’s push for the release of a new aircraft led to substandard procedures both in installing the parts of the plane, and in the oxygen masks. Boeing vehemently denied these claims during his attempts to hold them accountable and change the culture of the company. It was in the middle of the legal proceedings following his complaints– just a week after his deposition and cross examination– that he was found dead in his truck in a hotel parking lot.
In the following days after Barnett’s passing, a date for the hearings were set for August, and for about two months, things seemed to reach a plateau in terms of discourse for the company. At the beginning of May, however, the wound was reopened; another former whistleblower, Josh Dean, was suddenly found dead.
The many coincidences surrounding this second death could not be understated in the public eye; both whistleblowers had worked in the quality department of Boeing (or in Dean’s case, its subsidiary company, Spirit), and both had filed complaints against leadership for their lack of involvement with the quality of work done on manufacturing the parts of the aircrafts. Josh Dean was 45 with a healthy lifestyle before he died from a sudden and severe infection that put him into critical condition and took his life within two weeks.
The Hearing
The much anticipated hearing- in which Boeing’s CEO, David Calhoun, would be grilled for the first time over the details of the company’s meltdown and safety blunders- happened on June 18, with loved ones of victims of Boeing’s many previous crashes over the years in attendance holding signs and large photographs of who they lost. The hearing presented the stockpiled accusations of both company negligence and intentional criminal activities, including the then new allegation made by a third whistleblower, in which it was stated that the company moved nonconforming parts (or parts that weren’t up to FAA standard) away to different locations when the FAA came to inspect or audit their factories. Calhoun vehemently denied all claims of misconduct and wrongdoing within the company, even going so far as to say he was “proud of every action the company had taken” in the midst of this controversy.
The hearing concluded in August, and resulted in the resignation of David Calhoun. If this resignation was scheduled by Boeing, then it was done effectively, as Calhoun was able to absorb most of the grilling and questioning before leaving, giving the company a fresh start and a new face in the eyes of the public, one that even had a nickname- Robert “Kelly” Ortberg. The investigation continued past the summer, albeit with less steam than before. Boeing seemed content to take the steep drop off in stock value and their damaged public image (an aspect that is vital in any company that deals with building aircrafts, as many are afraid to fly as it is) as their punishment for the visible future, and the understanding was that they could make a steady comeback under their new company management. That was until Sunday, December 28th.
Flight 2216
First responders searching the wreckage of flight 2216 for survivors
In the final days of 2024, A Jeju Airlines 737 800 skidded off the runway into a wall and exploded into flames, killing all but two of its 181 passengers. While the crash is still under further investigation, there is early speculation that a bird strike or bad weather could have caused the event, though to many, these factors in isolation do not seem enough of a reason for such a violent crash. There is also the new question arising surrounding the security of 737 800 model aircrafts, which Boeing has not grounded like they did the 737 max 9’s. Whatever the case, it is clear that a pattern has formed in the midst of the chaos- among doors ripping off mid flight, whistleblowers dying suddenly only months apart, and jets exploding on the runway, there is one common thread, and that is Boeing- as the company ends 2024 worse than it started it, new CEO (and nickname) and all; Boeing is officially stalling out.
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