Boeing recently announced that it would be implementing some changes in design. This is in order to prevent another incident like the one seen earlier in January this year, when a door panel blew out in mid-air on an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California. This led to an emergency landing back in Oregon.
The issue led to Boeing being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US, during which it was revealed that the company failed 33 of the 89 audits carried out by the FAA. The aircraft in question, the 737 MAX 9 was also grounded for two weeks.
The investigation uncovered that Boeing's manufacturing process, as well as those of one of its most important suppliers, Spirit AeroSystems’ was lacking in quality control. Boeing has recently announced that it will be acquiring Spirit AeroSystems.
It was also later revealed that the door panel which blew off the Alaska Airlines flight was missing four important bolts, leading to the incident.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) started a two-day series of hearings on Tuesday regarding Boeing’s 737 MAX 9. Flight attendants, pilots, Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing executives, and Boeing’s International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ members will be among those due to testify.
Boeing confirmed during the hearing that the design changes are likely to be completed this year, and will be implemented across all its fleet. One of the key aspects of these changes will mean that door plugs will no longer close unless they are firmly secured.
Other issues likely to be investigated during the hearing are Boeing's safety and quality control systems, as well as the fact that the Alaska Airlines door panel was opened and reinstalled while production was ongoing.
Boeing has already taken steps to ensure that this particular issue does not happen again. When they arrive at factories, door plugs now have signs on them telling employees explicitly that they are not to be opened.There are also more regulations in place, in case door plugs have to be opened.
Boeing sees net loss for the second quarter of the year
Boeing recently reported its earnings for the second quarter and first half 2024, reporting a net loss of $1,439m (€1,318.58m) for the period. This was a significant rise from the $149m loss seen in the second quarter of 2023.
Net loss per share came up to $2.33 per share in Q2 2024, up from $0.25 per share in Q2 2023. Boeing saw revenues of $16,866m in the second quarter of the year, down from $19,751m in the corresponding quarter last year.
For the first half 2024, revenues were $33,435m, down 11% from the first half of 2023. The net loss for the first half of 2024 was $1,794m, up from $574m in H1 2023.
Boeing’s then president and chief executive officer (CEO) Dave Calhoun said in the company’s second quarter earnings report, “Despite a challenging quarter, we are making substantial progress strengthening our quality management system and positioning our company for the future.
“We are executing on our comprehensive safety and quality plan and have reached an agreement to acquire Spirit AeroSystems. While we have more work ahead, the steps we’re taking will help stabilise our operations and ensure Boeing is the company the world needs it to be. We are making important progress in our recovery and will continue to build trust through action and transparency.”
Calhoun will be replaced as president and CEO by Robert "Kelly" Ortberg on 8 August.
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