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    Boeing Reinstalled Panel That Later Blew Out of 737 Max Jet

    Employees at its Washington State factory are said to have removed the door plug for further work before the plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines.Nearly three weeks after a hole blew open on a Boeing 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight, terrifying passengers, new details about the jet’s production are intensifying scrutiny of Boeing’s quality-control practices.About a month before the Max 9 was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October, workers at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash., opened and later reinstalled the panel that would blow off the plane’s body, according to a person familiar with the matter.The employees opened the panel, known as a door plug, because work needed to be done to its rivets — which are often used to join and secure parts on planes — said the person, who asked for anonymity because the person isn’t authorized to speak publicly while the National Transportation Safety Board conducts an investigation.The request to open the plug came from employees of Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier that makes the body for the 737 Max in Wichita, Kan. After Boeing employees complied, Spirit employees who are based at Boeing’s Renton factory repaired the rivets. Boeing employees then reinstalled the door.An internal system that tracks maintenance work at the facility, which assembles 737s, shows the request for maintenance but does not contain information about whether the door plug was inspected after it was replaced, the person said.The details could begin to answer a crucial question about why the door plug detached from Flight 1282 at 16,000 feet, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport in Oregon minutes after taking off on Jan. 5. The door plug is placed where an emergency exit door would be if a jet had more seats. To stay in place, the plug relies primarily on a pair of bolts at the top and another pair at the bottom, as well as metal pins and pads on the sides.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Grounded Boeing Max 9 Jets Could Resume Flying Within Days

    The F.A.A. approved inspection guidelines for the 737s, one of which lost a body panel in flight. Alaska Airlines planned to start using them again on Friday and United on Sunday.Federal regulators on Wednesday cleared the way for Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to fly again — but also said they would put new limits on production of the troubled planes.The Federal Aviation Administration grounded about 170 Max 9 planes on Jan. 6 after a body panel detached from an Alaska Airlines Max 9 minutes after the flight took off from Portland, Ore., leaving a gaping hole in the side of the jet.On Wednesday, the agency approved a set of inspection and maintenance procedures and said airlines could resume flying the jets once the checks were complete. The process includes requiring airlines to inspect certain bolts and fasteners and to re-torque fasteners on the panel, known as a door plug, which is placed where an emergency exit door would be if a jet had more seats.United Airlines said that it would begin inspecting its 79 Max 9 planes under the new guidelines and that it expected to start using them again on flights on Sunday. Alaska Airlines said on its website that it planned to put a “few planes” back into service on Friday, “with more planes added every day as inspections are completed and each aircraft is deemed airworthy.” The airline said it expected to complete inspections on all 65 of its Max 9 planes over the next week.In a statement on Wednesday, Mike Whitaker, the F.A.A. administrator, said the agency was convinced that, with the necessary checks, the planes were safe.“We grounded the Boeing 737-9 Max within hours of the incident over Portland and made clear this aircraft would not go back into service until it was safe,” he said.But while existing planes could begin flying in a matter of days, the F.A.A. made it clear that Boeing’s troubles were far from over. In its statement, the agency said it would not allow Boeing to expand production of any of the 737 Max planes — not just the Max 9 but also other versions of the plane.“Let me be clear: This won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing,” Mr. Whitaker said in the statement. He said the agency would not approve production increases until it was “satisfied that the quality-control issues uncovered during this process are resolved.”The F.A.A. order is the latest in a series of problems for Boeing, and the 737 Max in particular. The line of fuel-efficient planes was meant to help the company regain ground it had lost to its European competitor, Airbus, and it quickly became the best-selling jet in Boeing’s history. But crashes of a different variant of the plane, the Max 8, in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people and led to the Max’s being grounded worldwide.The near disaster in January led to renewed scrutiny on quality control at Boeing and its contractors, including Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier that makes the body for the 737 Max in Wichita, Kan.The F.A.A. said on Wednesday that it would increase oversight of Boeing and begin an investigation into the company’s practices.“The quality-assurance issues we have seen are unacceptable,” Mr. Whitaker said. “That is why we will have more boots on the ground closely scrutinizing and monitoring production and manufacturing activities.”In a statement after the F.A.A. announcement on Wednesday, Boeing said it would “continue to cooperate fully and transparently” with the agency and follow its direction.“We will also work closely with our airline customers as they complete the required inspection procedures to safely return their 737-9 airplanes to service,” the company said.Sydney Ember More

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    How Did a Boeing Jet End Up With a Big Hole?

    As Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 made its ascent on Jan. 5, few, if any, passengers knew that a panel called a “door plug” — hidden behind the interior surface of the cabin at both window seats in Row 26 — was all that stood between them and the cold evening sky. Nor did they know […] More

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    DeSantis Bows Out, and So Does This Winter Freeze

    The New York Times Audio app is home to journalism and storytelling, and provides news, depth and serendipity. If you haven’t already, download it here — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.The Headlines brings you the biggest stories of the day from the Times journalists who are covering them, all in about five minutes.The Florida governor, who once appeared to be Donald Trump’s most daunting challenger, ran a costly and turbulent campaign that failed to catch on with Republican voters.Nicole Craine for The New York TimesOn Today’s Episode:Ron DeSantis Ends Campaign for President, by Nicholas Nehamas, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan and Shane GoldmacherAs U.S. and Militias Engage, White House Worries About a Tipping Point, by Peter BakerAt Least 72 Deaths in U.S. Are Connected to Severe Winter Weather, by Jacey Fortin and Colbi EdmondsF.A.A. Tells Airlines to Check Panels on a Second Boeing Plane, by Mark WalkerDiabetes Is Fueling an Amputation Crisis for Men in San Antonio, by Edgar SandovalNicholas Nehamas and Jessica Metzger and More

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    An Explosive Trump Ruling, and a Chaotic Congo Election

    The New York Times Audio app is home to journalism and storytelling, and provides news, depth and serendipity. If you haven’t already, download it here — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.The Headlines brings you the biggest stories of the day from the Times journalists who are covering them, all in about five minutes.Colorado’s Supreme Court was the first in the nation to rule that former President Donald J. Trump was disqualified on the basis of the 14th Amendment.Doug Mills/The New York TimesOn Today’s Episode:Colorado Ruling Knocks Trump Off Ballot, by Adam LiptakNearly a Quarter of Trump Voters Say He Shouldn’t Be Nominated if Convicted, by Maggie Haberman, Alan Feuer and Ruth IgielnikAfter Years of Wrangling, E.U. Countries Reach Major Deal on Migration, by Matina Stevis-GridneffF.A.A. to Investigate Exhaustion Among Air Traffic Controllers, by Emily Steel and Sydney EmberInside a Chaotic Billion-Dollar Election in a Pivotal African Nation, by Declan WalshNASA Streams Cat Video From Deep, Deep Space, by Sopan DebJessica Metzger and More