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☆ Alaska Airlines passenger accused of trying to open cockpit door has been charged in federal court
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Rashard Rose | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight this month repeatedly tried to open the cockpit door, prompting flight attendants to barricade the door and have the man restrained until landing, court documents filed in federal court allege. Jones got up from his seat several times during the flight and made three attempts to go to the front of the plane and open the cockpit door, an air marshal wrote in an affidavit. When a flight attendant asked why he tried to access the cockpit, Jones replied that he “was testing them,” the affidavit reads. The cockpit was locked down and barricaded with a beverage cart for the remainder of the flight, according to the affidavit. The passenger had tried to access the cockpit in a “nonviolent manner” and “appeared confused,” Alaska Airlines said on Wednesday.

Persons: Nathan Jones, Jones, “, Robert Jenkins, ” Jenkins, Anne Zalewski, CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe Organizations: CNN, Alaska Airlines, Dulles International, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, United Airlines Locations: San Diego, Virginia, Alaska, Alexandria , Virginia

☆ Student Pilot Charged After Trying to Access Alaska Airlines Cockpit
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Christine Hauser | More About Christine Hauser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A 19-year-old student pilot from Northern Virginia who tried repeatedly to enter the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight from California to Virginia earlier this month is facing a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew, according to court documents. The man, Nathan Jones, was traveling on Alaska Airlines Flight 322 from San Diego International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport on March 3 when he “interfered and intimidated flight crew members and attendants,” according to an affidavit filed the next day in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. His lawyer filed a motion this week arguing that Mr. Jones might not be mentally fit to stand trial. The affidavit said that Mr. Jones, a passenger in seat 6E, tried three times to go to the front of the plane and “open the aircraft’s cockpit door.” Flight attendants asked for assistance from off-duty law enforcement officers, who restrained Mr. Jones in flex cuffs and sat on either side of him for the rest of the flight.

Persons: Nathan Jones, “, Jones Organizations: Alaska Airlines, San Diego International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, Court, Eastern, of Locations: Northern Virginia, California, Virginia, Washington, of Virginia

☆ Boeing is unable to provide key information in door plug blowout investigation, NTSB chair says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Gregory Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Investigators probing the Boeing 737 Max blowout say their investigation is being held back by Boeing’s lack of a paper trail for key work. Boeing recently said it has searched for records but believes its employees did not document the work. The letter noted that Boeing has also been unable to provide security footage of the September 2023 work, which included removing and reinstalling the door plug. Boeing told CNN that 30-day record retention policy for security camera footage is standard practice. The letter revealed that the NTSB’s first request to Boeing for relevant employees’ names came on January 9 — four days after the mid-flight incident.

Persons: Jennifer Homendy, Homendy, ”, “ Organizations: CNN, Boeing, Max, National Transportation Safety Board, Alaska Airlines, Senate, NTSB, ” NTSB, Transportation Safety Board, Alaska Airlines Flight, Getty, ” Boeing Locations: Boeing’s Renton , Washington, Boeing’s, Portland , Oregon, Ontario , California

☆ Boeing failed to retain security camera footage showing work on Max jet door that blew out, NTSB says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Rob Wile | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Security camera footage showing work being done on a Boeing Max 9 door plug that later blew out mid-air has been overwritten, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said. "Boeing has informed us that they are unable to find the records documenting this work." She continued: "A verbal request was made by our investigators for security camera footage to help obtain this information; however, they were informed the footage was overwritten. A Boeing spokesperson said the company, like many others, does not retain security footage for longer than 30 days. The Alaska Airlines plane in question was in the factory last year in September and delivered in October.

Persons: Jennifer Homendy, Homendy, Dave Calhoun, Calhoun, John Barnett, Max, Bob Jordan Organizations: Alaska Airlines Flight, Boeing, National Transportation Safety Board, Boeing Max, National Transportation Safety, Commerce, Science, Alaska Airlines, NBC News, Journal, U.S . Department of Justice, South, The New York Times, United Airlines, Southwest, JPMorgan, CNBC Locations: Alaska, Portland , Oregon, U.S, South Carolina, Barnett's

☆ Southwest Airlines cuts capacity, and rethinks 2024 financial forecast, citing Boeing problems
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Southwest Airlines said Tuesday that it will have to trim its capacity plans and reevaluate its financial forecasts for the year, citing delivery delays from Boeing , its sole supplier of airplanes. The Dallas-based airline said Boeing informed Southwest's leaders that it should expect 46 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes this year, down from 58. Southwest had expected Boeing to deliver 79 Max planes, including some of the smallest model, the Max 7, which hasn't yet won certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. Because of the delays, Southwest said in a filing that it is "reevaluating all prior full year 2024 guidance, including the expectation for capital spending." Last week, United told staff that it would have to pause pilot hiring this spring because of late-arriving aircraft from Boeing, CNBC reported.

Persons: Max, —, United, Boeing didn't Organizations: Southwest Airlines, Boeing, Southwest's, Max, Southwest, Federal Aviation Administration, JPMorgan, Alaska Airlines, CNBC Locations: Dallas

☆ Alaska Airlines Flight Was Scheduled for Safety Check on Day Panel Blew Off
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Mark Walker | James Glanz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A day before the door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight on Jan. 5, engineers and technicians for the airline were so concerned about the mounting evidence of a problem that they wanted the plane to come out of service the next evening and undergo maintenance, interviews and documents show. But the airline chose to keep the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 9, in service on Jan. 5 with some restrictions, carrying passengers until it completed three flights that were scheduled to end that night in Portland, Ore., the site of one of the airline’s maintenance facilities. Before the plane could complete that scheduled sequence of flights and go in for the maintenance check, the door plug blew out at 16,000 feet, minutes after embarking on the second flight of the day, from Portland to Ontario International Airport in California. The plane landed safely and no one was seriously injured, but the incident focused new attention on Boeing’s manufacturing processes and the safety procedures followed by airlines.

Organizations: Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Ontario International Locations: Portland ,, Portland, California

☆ Alaska Airlines flight was headed for maintenance the same day part of the plane blew off
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( David Goldman | Gregory Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Alaska Airlines flight 1282, on which a door plug blew off the side of the plane shortly after takeoff on January 5, was scheduled to be taken out of service for maintenance the night of the incident, the airline said Tuesday. Such deferred maintenance is common and legal, and the plane had made 154 successful flights before the blowout. It’s not clear that an expedited maintenance schedule would have led Alaska Airlines to discover that problem. “The U.S. aviation system is the safest in the world because it relies on layers: redundant systems, robust processes and procedures, and the willingness to stop and ensure things are right before every takeoff,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. Although the revelation that the plane was scheduled for service the same day as the blowout does not necessarily suggest any wrongdoing by Alaska Airlines, it does raise further concerns about policies and regulations surrounding maintenance of America’s fleet of aircraft.

Persons: Jennifer Homendy, Max Tidwell Organizations: CNN, Alaska Airlines, New York Times, National Transportation Safety, NTSB, Boeing, The New York Times

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Southwest, Oracle, 3M, New York Community Bancorp and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Oracle — The database software stock surged 11% and headed for its best day since December 2021 after posting fiscal third-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street's expectations. Asana — The stock shed about 11% after the work management platform issued weak full-year revenue guidance. Asana said to expect revenue between $716 million and $722 million, less than the forecast of $725 million estimated by analysts polled by LSEG. American is expecting an adjusted loss of 15 cents to 35 cents per share, versus a 22 cent loss expected from analysts polled by FactSet. On lost 0.05 Swiss franc per share, while analysts polled by StreetAccount expected On to earn 0.10.

Persons: Oracle, William Brown, Asana, Microstrategy, Canaccord, TD Cowen, Dan Loeb's, StreetAccount, Archer, Daniels, Samantha Subin, Lisa Han, Alex Harring, Sarah Min Organizations: Southwest Airlines —, Boeing, Southwest, Oracle, L3Harris Technologies, LSEG, Wall Street, Boeing —, New York Times, Max, Alaska Airlines, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, American Airlines —, FactSet, Management, Advance, Swiss, Revenue, Daniels, Midland, Daniels Midland, . New York Community Bancorp Locations: .

☆ The FAA found staff at Boeing's supplier using liquid Dawn soap as lubricant for a 737 Max door seal: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mechanics at a Boeing supplier used liquid soap as a lubricant to fit a 737 Max door seal, per NYT. The instance was mentioned in a document discussing FAA audits of Boeing and its supplier, per NYT. This particular supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, is in charge of building the 737 Max's fuselage. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementThe Federal Aviation Administration auditors saw mechanics for a Boeing supplier using liquid Dawn soap as a lubricant for fitting a door seal, The New York Times reported.

Persons: —, Mark Walker, Max, Dave Calhoun Organizations: Boeing, Service, Aviation Administration, New York Times, FAA, The Times, Alaska Airlines, Times, Business, Spirit

A former Boeing manager who raised safety questions about the aircraft maker has been found dead outside a hotel in South Carolina, according to local authorities. Police noted “the global attention this case has garnered.”Barnett was a longtime Boeing employee and worked as a quality-control manager before he retired in 2017. “He said that Boeing had a culture of concealment and was putting profits over safety.”Rodney Barnett said working at Boeing created stress for John. In 2019, Barnett told The New York Times about quality issues at Boeing’s factory in South Carolina, where the 787 jetliner is assembled. ___James Pollard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

Persons: John Barnett, ” Barnett, “ John, ”, Rodney, “, ” Rodney Barnett, John, Barnett’s, Barnett, Max, ___, ___ James Pollard Organizations: Boeing, Coroner’s, Police, Associated Press, New York Times, BBC, Alaska Airlines Locations: South Carolina, Charleston, Louisiana, Boeing’s, Columbia , South Carolina

☆ Boeing's Max problems shift growth plans at major airline customers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 Max airplanes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing Factory in Renton, Washington, on March 21, 2019. Boeing 's latest Max crisis is forcing some of its biggest customers to rethink their growth plans this year — and possibly beyond, several airline CEOs said Tuesday. "Boeing needs to become a better company and the deliveries will follow that," Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said at a JPMorgan industry conference Tuesday. In January, Kirby said the airline would build a fleet plan without the Max 10 because of the delays. On Friday, United told staff that it would have to pause pilot hiring this spring because new Boeing planes are arriving late, CNBC reported.

Persons: Bob Jordan, Scott Kirby, Max, Kirby, United, Dave Calhoun, Stan Deal, Deal Organizations: Boeing, Max, Boeing Factory, Southwest Airlines, Southwest, JPMorgan, Alaska Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, Department, United Airlines, FAA, CNBC, Transportation Safety Locations: Renton , Washington, Washington

☆ A former Boeing manager turned whistleblower has been found dead with a 'self-inflicted' wound, the authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

John Barnett, 62, worked for over three decades at Boeing, including as a quality manager at a 787 plant. AdvertisementA former Boeing manager who flagged concerns about the aircraft manufacturer's quality standards was found dead in South Carolina on Saturday. Boeing told Business Insider in a statement: "We are saddened by Mr Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends." AdvertisementBarnett's lawyer, Brian Knowles, said the former Boeing manager was supposed to report for the third day of his deposition on Friday, per the Corporate Crime Reporter. Barnett's lawyers asked his hotel to check on the whistleblower, and he was found dead in his vehicle, Knowles told the Corporate Crime Reporter.

Persons: John Barnett, Barnett, —, Mr Barnett's, I'd, Barnett's, Brian Knowles, Knowles Organizations: Boeing, Service, BBC, Business, New York Times, Federal Aviation Administration, Alaska Airlines, Latam Airlines Locations: South Carolina, Charleston, North Charleston

☆ Boeing whistleblower who warned of aircraft safety flaws found dead
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Patrick Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A Boeing 737 MAX sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington. In a statement Monday, Boeing said: "We are saddened by Mr. Barnett's passing, and our thoughts are with his family and friends." A former Boeing quality inspector who filed a whistleblower complaint over alleged plane safety flaws was found dead "from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound," officials in Charleston, South Carolina, said Monday. Boeing said then that it was following the ruling and would look to improve the design of the nut, but also said it wasn't a flight safety issue. After his retirement in 2017, Barnett filed a whistleblower complaint to federal regulators about his experiences at the South Carolina plant.

Persons: Barnett, Mitch, , Barnett's, Bobbi Jo O'Neal, John Barnett, —, I'd, John, Vicky Melder Stokes, Mike Barnett, Robbie Barnett, Rodney Barnett Organizations: Boeing, Boeing, NBC, The New York Times, FAA, Times, Department, Alaska Airlines, Max, Prevention Locations: Renton , Washington, Charleston , South Carolina, Charleston County, South Carolina, Charleston, Sydney, Auckland , New Zealand

☆ F.A.A. Audit of Boeing’s 737 Max Production Found Dozens of Issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Mark Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A six-week audit by the Federal Aviation Administration of Boeing’s production of the 737 Max jet found dozens of problems throughout the manufacturing process at the plane maker and one of its key suppliers, according to a slide presentation reviewed by The New York Times. The air-safety regulator initiated the examination after a door panel blew off a 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight in early January. The presentation reviewed by The Times, though highly technical, offers a more detailed picture of what the audit turned up. conducted 89 product audits, a type of review that looks at aspects of the production process. The plane maker passed 56 of the audits and failed 33 of them, with a total of 97 instances of alleged noncompliance, according to the presentation.

Persons: AeroSystems Organizations: Federal Aviation Administration, The New York Times, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, The Times

☆ On the 5th anniversary of a fatal 737 Max crash, victims’ families want more focus on Boeing’s potential safety problems
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Even though the same jet model had crashed soon after taking off from Indonesia less than six months earlier, aviation authorities around the world had allowed the 737 Max to keep flying with passengers. A third incidentThis year, on January 5, a part of a 737 Max 9 flown by Alaska Airlines blew out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane. Boeing’s production problems went beyond the design flaw that led to the crashes. “Within days of the first crash, Boeing knew there was a design defect,” Robert Clifford, one of the plaintiff attorneys in the case, told CNN. Last month, Boeing removed executive Ed Clark, the head of its 737 Max passenger jet program.

Persons: New York CNN — Michael Stumo’s, Samya Rose Stumo, ”, “, ” Michael Stumo, Michael Stumo Samya Rose, Max, Michael Stumo, We’d, ” Stumo, ” Zipporah, Joseph, ‘ something’s, ’ ” Joseph Kuria, Olivia Kuria, “ It’s, haven’t, Kruia, ” Kuria, ” Robert Clifford, people’s, Olivier Douliery, Dave Calhoun, Ed Clark, Stephen Brashear, Eduardo Soteras, David Calhoun, Mike Delaney, ” Joseph, Zipporah, Dennis Muilenburg, Calhoun, Stumo, “ I’m, Kuria, there’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Boeing, Max, CNN, Copenhagen School of Public Health, Ethiopian, Alaska Airlines, National Transportation Safety Board, Alaska, Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, Alaska Airlines Flight, Alaska Air, ”, US Justice Department, FAA, Justice Department, Getty, Ethiopian Airlines, Lion Air, Airline Pilots, Association of Ethiopia Locations: New York, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, Alaska, Portland , Oregon, Arlington , Virginia, AFP, ”, Renton , Washington, Washington

The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into Boeing after a panel on one of the company’s planes blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight in early January, a person familiar with the matter said. to be conducting an investigation,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation.” Boeing had no comment. On Jan. 5, a panel on a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet operated by Alaska Airlines blew out in midair, exposing passengers to the outside air thousands of feet above ground. The panel is known as a “door plug” and is used to cover a gap left by an unneeded exit door.

Persons: ” Organizations: Department, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, ” Boeing, Max, National Transportation Safety Board

Quality concerns and production slowdowns. Boeing is an American institution that has contributed to the country’s place on the global stage. As business reporters at The New York Times, we have for years been covering Boeing and concerns over the quality of the planes it makes. We want to hear from people who work — or have worked — at Boeing or at companies, government agencies or other organizations that deal with Boeing about what the company is doing wrong or right. We will not publish any part of your submission without following up with you again to get your permission.

Organizations: Boeing, The New York Times, Airbus, Alaska Airlines Locations: American

☆ NTSB rips Boeing for failing to produce key door plug documents
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Gregory Wallace | Pete Muntean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Boeing has not turned over important records to investigators probing the door plug blowout on a 737 Max earlier this year, investigators say. She testified that because of Boeing’s actions, NTSB investigators do not know who on the Boeing assembly line removed and reinstalled the door plug that – months later while the plane was in service carrying passengers – blew out. Homendy said that Boeing has not fully cooperated with the NTSB Board's investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug incident. The plane flew about 150 commercial flights before the door plug flew off the plane mid-flight on January 5, just over two months ago. NTSB investigators have made multiple visits to Boeing facilities and created a special team to handle requesting and processing documents from Boeing and its key contractor, Spirit AeroSystems.

Persons: Jennifer Homendy, Homendy, Kevin Dietsch, ” Homendy Organizations: CNN, Boeing, Transportation, Commerce, U.S . National Transportation Safety Board, Senate Commerce, Science, Russell Senate, NTSB, Alaska Airlines, Getty, Federal Aviation Administration Locations: Renton, Washington ,

☆ 3 passengers on the Alaska Airlines blowout flight are suing the carrier and Boeing for $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Three passengers are suing Alaska Airlines and Boeing for $1 billion. The law firm said the "preventable incident" jeopardized the lives of 180 people. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThree people who were on board Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 are asking for $1 billion in punitive damages from the carrier and Boeing. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, Kyle Rinker, Amanda Strickland, Kevin Kwok, Jonathan W Organizations: Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Service, Alaska, Max, Johnson, Portland International, Business

☆ Boeing is delaying its 737 Max production expansion after the Alaska Airlines door plug incident
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Boeing is delaying production expansion of its 737 planes, according to a report. An Alaska Airlines flight lost a chunk of its fuselage section in flight in January. AdvertisementBoeing is holding off on a planned expansion of production for its 737 Max planes after an Alaska Airlines flight lost a chunk of the plane while airborne in January. But the company has delayed those plans in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident earlier this year. AdvertisementThe Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes on January 6 following the incident.

Persons: —, Jennifer Homendy Organizations: Boeing, Alaska Airlines, FAA, Service, Reuters, Transportation Safety, Aviation Administration, Max Locations: Alaska, Portland , Oregon, Ontario , California

☆ A flight cancellation stranded my family for days — and it was the best vacation we've had in years
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Alesandra Dubin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Last month, I was just wrapping up a short but sweet family vacation in Hawaii with my husband and our 9-year-old twins. When Alesandra Dubin and her family got stranded while on vacation, they made the most of their trip. We started to shift our mindset: We decided to embrace it and soak up our extra family time in paradise. Courtesy Alesandra DubinEventually, available flights started to populate travel search engines again, and I booked the family on a flight home just over four days after our originally scheduled flight. This potential travel disaster had turned into the best family vacation, and the best bonding experience, we'd had in a long time.

Persons: groggily, Alesandra Dubin, I'd, we'd Organizations: Service, Alaska Airlines, Business Locations: Hawaii, Los Angeles

Spirit Aerosystems had a market capitalization of $3.3 billion as of Thursday's close. "We do not comment on market speculation," a spokesperson for Spirit Aerosystems told CNBC. Boeing in 2005 spun off operations in Kansas and Oklahoma that became the present-day Spirit Aerosystems. It comes less than two months after a section of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight. It was the latest and most serious in a host of flaws on the Boeing 737 Max, Boeing's best-selling jet.

Persons: Aerosystems, Spirit Aerosystems, Boeing's, Max Organizations: Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, Boeing, Spirit, CNBC, Airbus, Wall Street, Max, Alaska Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board Locations: Wichita , Kansas, U.S, Kansas, Oklahoma, Boeing's Renton , Washington

☆ Boeing fined $51 million for violating Arms Export Control Act
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Boeing has agreed to pay $51 million for violating exports controls of military technology, including employees in China downloading sensitive data from numerous defense aircraft and missiles. The State Department found a total of 199 violations of the Arms Export Control Act by Boeing. It faces multiple investigations for a door plug blowing out on a 737 Max flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the Alaska Airlines flight. The NTSB has yet to determine blame or fault for the door plug incident on the Alaska Air flight. But Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told investors in January, “We caused the problem, and we understand that.

Persons: ” “, ”, Boeing’s, Max, Dave Calhoun, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Boeing, State Department, Alaska Airlines, National Safety Transportation Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Justice Department, FAA, NTSB, Alaska Air Locations: New York, China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Boeing said on Friday that it was in talks to acquire Spirit AeroSystems, a struggling supplier that the manufacturer spun out nearly two decades ago and that makes the bodies of the 737 Max jet. In reabsorbing Spirit, Boeing would be seeking to rescue and restructure a troubled but important partner that has been battered by years of losses and quality control problems. Spirit’s problems have also at times limited how fast Boeing can produce Max planes, its most popular commercial jet. Bringing Spirit, one of the company’s key suppliers, back in house would be a significant strategic shift for Boeing, which has long relied on outsourcing to make its planes. Experts say the episode could have been catastrophic had it happened at a higher altitude with passengers moving about the cabin.

Organizations: Boeing, Alaska Airlines

The Justice Department review could, the reports note, expose Boeing to broader criminal liability if officials decide Boeing may have violated a controversial legal agreement that was due to expire on January 7, two days after the door plug incident. In the days after the door plug incident on Alaska Airlines flight 1282, an attorney for the families asked the Justice Department to review whether Boeing violated the agreement. Boeing is subject to several other investigations stemming from the door plug incident. The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the door plug incident and recently reported that critical bolts that hold the door plug in place were not installed in Boeing’s factory. The NTSB has yet to determine blame or fault for the door plug incident on the Alaska Air flight.

Persons: Max, –, Dave Calhoun, “, ” Organizations: Washington DC CNN, US Justice Department, Boeing, Federal Aviation Administration, New York Times, Bloomberg, Alaska Airlines, Department of Justice, CNN, DOJ, FAA, Justice Department, National Transportation Safety, NTSB, Alaska Air Locations: United States

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