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Senate committee told NTSB confidentiality does not bar Congress; NTSB officials say Boeing has not provided key records
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Summary
At a March 6 Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing, an NTSB official told the committee that confidentiality agreements do not block congressional access and said Boeing has not provided requested records or the names of a 25-person Renton team involved in door plug work for Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. The NTSB agreed to provide a written update within a week.
At a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee exchange on March 6, a senator asked whether parties to National Transportation Safety Board investigations must get NTSB approval before giving documents to Congress; an NTSB official replied, "That is not true," and said parties should not "use the NTSB as a shield."
The senator then focused on the NTSB investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and safety concerns with the Boeing 737 Max 9, urging the agency to identify any safety issues and solutions. The NTSB official told the panel that some parties, including the Federal Aviation Administration, have been cooperative but that Boeing "has not provided us with the documents and information" about the opening, closing and removal of a door plug at Boeing's Renton facility.
"That's correct, senator. We don't know," the official said when asked whether investigators knew who actually opened the door plug two months after the incident. The official said that while some investigations yield information quickly, others take months, and that NTSB investigators have been working from photographs and emails to infer details in the absence of corporate records.
The official described a team of about 25 people at the Renton facility responsible for the door work and said the manager of that team has been on medical leave; investigators have requested the names of the other team members and the operational records but have not received them. The official also said investigators were conducting on-site interviews that began on Sunday and would continue through the week.
The NTSB official added that individuals initially described as Spirit Aerospace employees who worked on rivets were actually contractors and that those workers were employed by AeroTech, Straum Aviation and Launch. The official said Spirit Aerospace did not disclose that employment detail and that the information came from the interviewed individuals. The NTSB has engaged counsel in the matter, the official said.
The senator described the lack of cooperation as "utterly unacceptable" and asked the NTSB to inform the committee in writing within one week whether Boeing had cooperated and to provide the list of 25 names and any documentation associated with the door plug work. The NTSB official agreed to provide a written response to the committee, including the requested names and documentation, and reiterated that the agency had repeatedly requested the records from Boeing.
The committee's exchange highlighted two central points for investigators and lawmakers: that NTSB confidentiality agreements themselves do not bar Congress from receiving information, and that the NTSB says it still lacks certain records and personnel lists from Boeing related to work on a door plug tied to the Flight 1282 depressurization incident. The NTSB committed to updating the committee in writing within one week on Boeing's level of cooperation and the requested records.
