The Boeing subcontractor that made the door stopper that exploded on an Alaska Airlines flight at 16,000 feet was warned of an “excessive amount of defects” just days before the fateful flight, according to a lawsuit.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffered a near-catastrophic failure Friday when its door plug fell out, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
The National Transportation Safety Board recovered the door in the backyard of a suburban home in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday.
On December 19, a class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court against Spirit AeroSystems, alleging that the company had discovered “persistent quality defects” in its products.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of investors in the company, which was a manufacturing unit of Boeing until 2005.
The lawsuit filed against Spirit AeroSystems accuses the company of manufacturing problems and includes a complaint from an employee who claimed in an email sent to a company executive that there were “too many defects.”
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffered a near-catastrophic failure Friday when its door plug suddenly fell out, forcing it to make an emergency landing
A Boeing subcontractor that made the door stopper that exploded during a flight 16,000 feet into the air was warned about “excessive defects,” according to a new lawsuit
On December 19, a class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court against Spirit AeroSystems, led by CEO Patrick Shanahan (pictured), alleging that the company had discovered “persistent quality deficiencies” in its products
Although the complaints do not specifically address door stoppers, they allege that Spirit's “quality deficiencies were so severe and persistent that Boeing even placed Spirit on probation for several years.”
The lawsuit adds that the problems were “widespread” at the company and included “the routine presence of foreign objects in Spirit products, missing fasteners, peeling paint and poor skin quality.”
has reached out to Spirit and Boeing for comment on the lawsuit.
“Spirit follows the protocols established by regulators guiding communications in such circumstances, and we will share additional information as appropriate,” the company said in a statement on its website about the Alaska Airlines incident.
Flight 1282 suffered a near-fatal incident after the Boeing 737 Max's door plug was sucked out nine moments after departure from Portland International Airport bound for Ontario, California.
Both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the only two U.S. airlines flying the plane, said they had found loose screws in several other door plugs in their fleets.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 plug door aircraft.
On Tuesday, it issued another update saying they would remain grounded until it was determined all doses could be safely returned to service.
The National Transportation Safety Board recovered the door in the backyard of a suburban Portland home on Sunday
Agency investigators are examining the door stopper and will send it to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, DC for further examination
A photo shows that the frame of the future door was completely torn out by the hull damage
The lawsuit alleges that Spirit relies heavily on Boeing for orders and produces a large portion of the plane maker's jet fuselages.
“Such consistent quality deficiencies resulted, in part, from Spirit’s culture that valued production numbers and short-term financial results over product quality,” it said.
According to the complaint, Spirit had two specific manufacturing problems.
The company allegedly “drilled fake holes in the 737 Max’s rear pressure bulkhead,” which is located at the rear of the plane.
A second issue involved a “defect associated with the tailfin fittings of certain 737 MAX aircraft,” which Boeing flagged in April.
Spirit's stock price collapsed due to production problems and the company overhauled its executives.
The company named Patrick Shanahan as its new CEO, replacing Thomas C. Gentile III, who had held the position since 2016 and was named as a defendant in the class action lawsuit.
In one on Saturday opposite
The flight, which was scheduled to arrive at Ontario International in California, turned around after the connector door came loose on Friday evening
Frightened passengers were left fearing for their lives on Friday after the door stopper fell out. After recovering the damaged Alaska Airlines door, NTSB said on
Boeing shares suffered their biggest drop in over a year on Monday, losing a whopping $13.5 billion in value on the first day of trading following the collapse of Alaska Airlines.
“We are committed to ensuring that every Boeing aircraft meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards,” a Boeing spokesman said.
The near-disaster caused Boeing Corp. shares to plunge. fell by 8.6 percent from 248 to 228 between Friday evening and Monday morning. After the market opened, the stock plunged further, reaching 226 – and analysts warned it is expected to continue falling until the planes are back in service.
Meanwhile, shares of Alaska Air fell 4.3 percent, while shares of United Airlines, the other U.S. airline that operates the jet, fell 2.4 percent.