(PatriotPostNews.com) – Amid an ongoing probe surrounding a maintenance malfunction on a commercial airplane, investigators recently shared that a lack of surveillance footage has left them unable to identify the employee who conducted maintenance on the flight.
The investigation seeks to determine the reason why part of the fuselage—the main section of the plane that holds passengers and crew members—fell off just after takeoff on a January Alaska Airlines flight. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is looking into the cause of the accident, missing surveillance footage that caught on film the repairs done to a door plug on the plane is keeping them from knowing who conducted the repairs.
A letter dated March 13 and submitted to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation stated that the agency is still unsure “who performed the work” on the door plug that failed during the flight. NTSB added that the lack of video footage “will complicate” their ongoing investigation.
The federal agency said it has requested and received some information about employees who “reported to the door crew manager” at the time of the repairs in question, in September 2023. However, the door crew manager himself is currently away from work on medical leave and is unable to be interviewed.
Additionally, NTSB emphasized that it is looking to identify and question employees in order to gain information and knowledge about “Boeing’s quality-assurance processes” as well as its “safety culture” and is not seeking to punish workers involved in the repairs.
According to Boeing, repair surveillance footage is “maintained on a rolling 30-day basis.” During the investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration has uncovered many production issues with the aircraft’s development.
The accident took place on January 5, shortly after the Alaska Airlines flight departed for California from Oregon. 171 passengers and six members of the crew were on board when a “plug door” in the middle of the plane fell off at 16,000 feet, taking headrests and a young boy’s shirt with it.
The plane landed back in Portland within 20 minutes of takeoff. There were several injured passengers, all of whom were later medically cleared.
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