The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is blaming Boeing, supplier Spirit Aerosystems and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the blowout of a door plug aboard an Alaska Airlines flight in January of 2024.

The NTSB's final assessment determined that although much of blame for the incident lies at the feet of Boeing and Spirit, the FAA still played a part for its "inadequate oversight," especially given that the plane's bolts were not due to be inspected for another two years. Boeing also admitted that there was no internal paperwork to track the removal of the door plug bolts in the first place, while employees spoke of a pervasive culture of rushed work and low safety standards.

The NTSB released its findings from the incident on June 24, with Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy stating in a hearing that the safety issues leading up to the blowout "should have been evident to Boeing and the FAA." 

“I have lots of questions about where the FAA was during all of this," she said. "The FAA is the absolute last barrier of defense when it comes to ensuring aviation safety."

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In its preliminary report released in February 2024, the NTSB revealed that four bolts that would have kept the door plug in place were missing from Boeing's 737 Max prior to taking off out of Portland, Oregon on January 5, 2024. Minutes into the flight, the plug blew out at 16,000 feet, although no injuries were reported. The NTSB had also found that Boeing overwrote surveillance footage of the Renton facility where workers had done rivet repairs on the plane in September of 2023. 

Homendy went on to share that she has had "several great discussions" with Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg since he took over the company in August 2024, adding that "he has a lot of work cut out for him, and a lot of challenges to address." 

"More can and should be done," she said.