US Safety Board to Hold Hearings on Boeing 737 MAX Door Incident

WASHINGTON—The National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday it had scheduled 20 hours of hearings over two days on the January Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 in-flight door plug emergency and would review oversight by U.S. safety regulators. The NTSB said on its website the Aug. 6–7 hearings are set to last 10 hours each day and would focus on Boeing 737 MAX manufacturing and inspections, FAA oversight of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems and events surrounding the removal of the door plug in 2023. The hearing would also review safety management and quality management systems. Boeing has faced mounting questions after a door panel detached during a Jan. 5 flight on a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, forcing pilots to make an emergency landing while passengers were exposed to a gaping hole 16,000 feet above the ground. The FAA had grounded all MAX 9 airplanes for several weeks and required safety checks before they could resume flights. The agency also has barred Boeing from expanding MAX production as the agency reviews the planemaker’s practices....