Bolts Missing from Alaska 737 MAX 9’s Door Plug: NTSB

I think the report is clear. It was assembled with the bolts retaining it at Spirit Aerosystems. It was removed/released to fix some rivets at Boeing Renton. The lack of procedure description and work checklist and possibly careless inspection overlooked the reinstatement of those 4 bolts when the plug was refitted. Boeing Renton QA procedures are faulty. Experienced people are asking, where was the bag containing the removed bolts so it was obvious to refit them. Where was the procedure description and diagrams to do the work. Where is the checklist to inspect the work for signoff (indeed is there a signoff?). Its all ambiguous, loose, arbitrary at Boeing Renton. My worry is, if this happens for this job, what about all the other bolts?

The only "why" needed is "Why aren't Boeing/contractor/sub duties/responsibilities more explicitly defined around work/rework?" Fragile methodology doesn't work so well when the struggle is bureaucratic.

Boom Boom???????????Really

That's actually a really good idea !

If you find someone who will give you an Airbus, please do share. haha

> Doesn't the FDA over see this?

Pretty sure the Food & Drug Administration has nothing to do with this...

This is from I think Econ 102: every government regulation & enforcement has costs associated with it, and in the general case, only "natural persons" eventually foot the bill. Corporations do not pay taxes or government fees - they are built into the cost of doing business, which ends up with the end consumer no matter what. In the case of Boeing, the cost of FAA scrutiny should be paid by Boeing, like USDA Inspectors in "meat processing facilities," who can then pass that cost onto their customer regardless of which country the purchaser of the the 737 is in. The US Taxpayer should not be funding the inspections for planes intended for foreign airlines - it should be the foreign airlines who can then pass the total cost onto their passengers & freight customers. I believe that is how the FAA handles their inspectors? True?

Is it possible for there to be sensors that can better isolate problems?

This is not the time for union bashing.
Had a mechanic failed to do their job, Boeing QA should have caught it and ensured it was corrected.
Only after that should the employee have faced discipline and the union become involved.
If this person had a record of sloppiness like this, they should have been fired, union or otherwise.

I have been told that all-wing aircraft such as stealth aircraft are unmanageable without computers to stabilize their flight. Is that relevant?

How true that is and as a one time A&P mechanic take the responsibility to fix them right understand very well the need to do things right every time so no one dies. There people who should not be working around or on aircraft of any kind but finding when someone chooses not to do there job is very hard to do.

Pay attention. The plane was *delivered* with the bolts missing.

Is there any subject that you can't tie a political comment too?

We were overdue for partisan talking point regurgitation

Trade in your tinfoil hat.

You may be right but Boeing carries final responsibility for the entire production process, including work done by its own staff and its subcontractors.

Since the door plug is designed to be opened if needed, it’s very likely if not a certainty that there is a written procedure for opening and then reinstalling the plug. Spirit employees on site in Renton replaced some known bad rivets in the fuselage frame around the plug, which is why the plug needed to be opened. It’s unclear in the preliminary NTSB report whether Spirit employees or Boeing employees reinstalled the plug, but either way Boeing would’ve been responsible for ensuring that the reinstall was done correctly.

I’d be very surprised if this is the first and only time a door plug had to be opened at Renton, but either way someone got sloppy.

Sounds like too many Chef's and not enough Indians. How many wrong doers have been mentioned here???