By The Associated Press
The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday that her agency still doesn't know who worked on the panel that came off a jetliner in January. Boeing's CEO told her that the company has no records about the job, making it difficult for the investigation to progress.
The absence of these records will make it harder for the National Transportation Safety Board to continue their investigation, wrote Jennifer Homendy, the Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, in a letter to a Senate committee looking into the January 5th accident on a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines.
Boeing released a short statement once again committing to support the investigation.
Homendy informed senators last week that the NTSB requested security-camera footage from Boeing to help identify who worked on the panel in September. However, they were told that the video had been erased after 30 days, which was months before the incident.
Boeing stated on Wednesday that it's their standard practice to delete video after 30 days.
Homendy's recent letter to the Senate Commerce Committee was a follow-up to her testimony before the panel last week. Following her testimony, Boeing provided the names of 25 employees who work on doors at the company’s 737 factory near Seattle.
Nevertheless, she mentioned that the company still hasn't identified which workers removed the panel, which covers a hole when extra emergency doors are not needed on a plane. She even called Boeing CEO David Calhoun.
“He stated he was unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed,” Homendy wrote. Boeing did not comment on the phone call.
There is a downside to the NTSB’s focus on identifying specific workers, Homendy admitted. She worried that it could discourage people from speaking with investigators, so she instructed her staff to protect the identities of Boeing employees who come forward.
