After the Department of Justice opened an investigation into a Boeing airplane’s door-plug blowout in January, the airplane manufacturer is facing repercussions for releasing information that violated federal regulations.
In a press release on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board claimed that Boeing “blatantly violated” the government’s investigative regulations surrounding scrutiny in an accident involving one of the airline companies at the beginning of this year.
“During a media briefing Tuesday about quality improvements at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, a Boeing executive provided investigative information and gave an analysis of factual information previously released,” the press release read. “Both of these actions are prohibited by the party agreement that Boeing signed.”
The agency announced a series of sanctions and restrictions against the airline giant, including pulling Boeing’s access to investigative information, the potential subpoena of any relevant records, and a subpoena forcing the company to appear at an investigative hearing in Washington, D.C.
The NTSB referenced the government’s investigation into a Jan. 5 door plug blowout that happened on a Boeing passenger jet that left Portland, Oregon. Investigators found four critical safety bolts were missing from the plane. The incident sparked concern over the airline manufacturer’s safety practices, prompting a federal criminal investigation into the incident in March.
The NTSB said that it will share information about the company’s unauthorized investigative information releases related to the January door plug investigation to the DOJ’s Fraud Division. It is unclear whether the DOJ will take further action against Boeing.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The NTSB’s sanctions against Boeing come after the airline giant has faced a slew of accidents with its planes over the past year. Additionally, multiple whistleblowers have come forward with allegations that the company routinely disregards safety practices and uses faulty parts to build airplanes.
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At a congressional hearing earlier this month, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun apologized to victims of crashes, while saying his company is committed to safety. His words came a day after a Senate investigations subcommittee released a damning report saying the company was evading product control and safety practices by continuing some processes “without a quality inspection” and “trying to walk away from everybody [being] dependent on a second person.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Boeing for comment.
