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Boeing to brief European regulators on new production plans after 737 MAX panel blowout

Boeing is preparing a. briefing for highlevel European regulative officials about. changes to the method it makes planes, a senior company executive. said, after a January midair panel blowout sparked a safety. crisis.

Boeing has actually been under pressure over factory controls considering that. Jan. 5, when a door plug tore off an Alaska Airlines 737. MAX 9 jet, in an event blamed on missing bolts.

Elizabeth Lund, Boeing's senior vice president quality, said. on Tuesday the planemaker has a briefing with the leading level of. the European Union Air Travel Security Agency (EASA) coming up, with. the U.S. Federal Air Travel Administration (FAA) participating.

The company will do the exact same with other regulators.

We will guarantee they are fully aware of all the actions we are. taking as we go through this, Lund informed press reporters during a. visit to the company's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, a. Seattle suburban area.

EASA's acting head said in March the firm would suspend. its indirect approval of Boeing's jet production if required,. however added he felt reassured that the planemaker was tackling its. latest security crisis.

Under a transatlantic pact, the FAA and EASA regulate the. factories of their respective planemakers - Boeing and Jet. - and recognise each other's safety approvals. That. relationship has actually been checked in the consequences of 2 fatal MAX. crashes in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

In February, the FAA informed Boeing to establish a strategy to. address systemic quality-control issues.

Boeing stated it has actually increased investment in training,. simplified work instructions and increased supplier oversight,. after the Alaska Airlines MAX 9 jet made it to the end of the. factory line with rivets that needed correcting.

Boeing has likewise presented specific production milestones its. airplanes will require to hit in order to advance to the next build. position. The planemaker will think about mechanics' concerns if. they think the jet needs to be kept back, said Jennifer Boland. Masterson, a senior production director in the 737 program.

Lund stated the Alaska Airlines door plug was opened without. paperwork to fix the rivets, and the missing out on bolts were not. changed. The group that was available in and closed the plug was not. responsible for reinstalling the bolts, she said.

The mishap, which resulted in an emergency situation landing, is under. examination by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB stated early on Thursday it was approving Boeing. for revealing non-public information of the continuous examination. in the media rundown where Lund's comments were made and it was. referring the planemaker's conduct to the Justice Department.

During the rundown, Lund stated Boeing had confidence that. no other plane was delivered like this based on the total. fleet check that we did, in recommendation to the Alaska Airlines. jet.

Boeing is willing and ready to get AS9100. certification, an internationally recognized aerospace requirement. for quality that the planemaker needs for its providers, she. stated. Boeing is already certified with the standard and has actually been. examined to the level as if it was certified, Lund added.

(source: Reuters)