The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced early Thursday that it is sanctioning Boeing for disclosing non-public details related to an ongoing investigation into a 737 MAX mid-air emergency. The NTSB also referred Boeing’s conduct to the Justice Department.
According to the NTSB, Boeing “blatantly violated” investigative regulations by releasing “non-public investigative information to the media” and speculating on potential causes of a door plug blowout on a January 5 Alaska Airlines flight.
Boeing’s actions have exacerbated tensions between the beleaguered planemaker and government agencies, particularly as it faces a July 7 deadline to avoid potential criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
While Boeing will remain a party to the NTSB’s investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident, it will lose access to information generated during the probe and will not be permitted to question other participants at an investigative hearing scheduled for August 6-7.
“As a party to many NTSB investigations over the past decades, few entities know the rules better than Boeing,” the NTSB remarked, highlighting the company’s breach of protocol during a media briefing on quality improvements in its commercial airplanes division.
During the briefing, a Boeing executive disclosed investigative information and provided analysis of factual information that had not been authorized for release, violating the party agreement signed with the NTSB. In response, the NTSB will subpoena Boeing to appear at the August hearing and will refer the company’s conduct to the DOJ.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This latest incident comes as the DOJ is already scrutinizing Boeing for allegedly violating a 2021 settlement agreement related to its interactions with the Federal Aviation Administration before the fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in 346 deaths. U.S. prosecutors have been recommending criminal charges against Boeing for failing to comply with the deferred prosecution agreement that mandated compliance practice overhauls.
The NTSB stated that it will coordinate with the DOJ Fraud Division to provide details on Boeing’s unauthorized information release concerning the 737 MAX door plug investigation. The DOJ has a separate criminal investigation into the MAX door plug emergency, following an NTSB finding in February that the door panel was missing four key bolts.
The NTSB revealed that after learning of the unauthorized information release, Boeing provided a transcript of the media briefing, confirming that non-public investigative information was disclosed and that Boeing had offered unverified opinions on the accident’s causes.
This incident is the latest strain in the relationship between Boeing and the NTSB. In March, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy criticized Boeing for delaying the provision of employee names related to the 737 MAX door team, a delay that prompted swift action after lawmakers’ criticism.
The NTSB emphasized that its investigation focuses on determining the probable cause of the accident rather than assigning individual blame or liability. This stance follows recent criticism of Boeing’s portrayal of the investigation as a search for an individual responsible for the door plug work.
This announcement comes shortly after NTSB Chair Homendy accused railroad operator Norfolk Southern of threatening the board, attempting to fabricate evidence, and failing to provide documents during an investigation into a 2023 Ohio derailment.
