Boeing to Redesign 737 Max Door Plug That Sparked Latest Crisis
- Planemaker has sought to show progress since accident
- Executives from Boeing, Spirit testifying at two-day hearing
Photographer: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images
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Boeing Co. is redesigning the fuselage component that blew out of a nearly new 737 Max 9 aircraft mid-flight in January, as the planemaker seeks to draw lessons from the accident that has thrown it into crisis.
The company revealed the plan during a day-long hearing with the US National Transportation Safety Board, which grilled executives from Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems Inc. about their safety and manufacturing culture. Boeing said engineers are working on design changes that would prevent the so-called door plug from being closed until it’s firmly secured, after the NTSB found the element hadn’t been properly reinserted and was missing bolts to hold it down.