Remarks as prepared for delivery

​​Good morning. We are now in session.

I’m Jennifer Homendy. I’m honored to serve as Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and this Board of Inquiry. 

I’m joined by my fellow Board Members: Member Michael Graham, Member Tom Chapman, Member Alvin Brown, and Member Todd Inman. 

Together, we comprise the Board of Inquiry for this investigative hearing, the notice for which was published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2024. 

If anyone here or watching remotely is not familiar with the NTSB, we are an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in the other modes of transportation. 

We issue an official determination regarding probable cause and, as appropriate, safety recommendations to prevent future accidents. 

The NTSB also investigates certain incidents that present significant safety issues. The NTSB strives to accurately identify and report all relevant facts, conditions, and circumstances relating to each accident or incident it investigates. 

When necessary, we hold investigative hearings. 

An investigative hearing allows the NTSB to gather sworn testimony from witnesses on issues identified by the investigative team for a specific event or systemic safety issue.

This hearing is an important part of our ongoing investigation of the accident that occurred on January 5, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. 

Investigative hearings are “fact-finding proceedings.” The purpose is to “receive testimony and evidence which may be of aid in determining the cause of an accident.”

At about 5:14 p.m. Pacific Time, a Boeing 737-9, operating as Alaska Airlines flight 1282, returned to Portland International Airport after the left mid exit door plug departed the airplane in-flight, leading to a rapid decompression.

The airplane landed on runway 28L at Portland International Airport without further incident, and all occupants — two flight crewmembers, four cabin crewmembers, and 171 passengers — deplaned at the gate. 

Seven passengers and one flight attendant received minor physical injuries. 

I say physical injuries because this was quite traumatic for the crew and passengers and injuries we can’t see, which we often don’t talk about, can have profound impacts on lives and livelihoods.

On behalf of the entire agency, we are so sorry you had to experience such a terrifying ordeal. 

For those in the room, Elias Kontanis from our Transportation Disaster Assistance Division is here to provide support to anyone who may need it. 

This hearing will consist of four panels:

• ​Overview of Boeing 737 MAX 9 Manufacturing and Inspections. 
• Events Surrounding the Opening and Closing of the Mid Exit Door Plug.
• Safety Management Systems and Quality Management Systems.
• Federal Aviation Administration Oversight.
  

These topics were identified at a Pre-Hearing Conference with the Technical Panel, parties to the hearing, and the Board of Inquiry, which we hosted last week, on August 1, 2024. 

As a reminder: If anyone has information they would like to share with the Board or the investigative team, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] at any time. You may also email me at [email protected]. 

I’d now like to introduce the NTSB staff. We have in the front row:

• ​Mr. Doug Brazy, Hearing Officer.
• Mr. John Lovell, Investigator-in-Charge.
• Mr. Pocholo Cruz, Lead Aerospace Engineer. 
• Mr. Nils Johnson, Aviation Accident Investigator – Maintenance.
• Dr. Sabrina Woods, Senior Human Performance Investigator.
  

In the back row, we have:

• Ms. Leani Benitez-Cardona, who will operate the audio-visuals.
• Ms. Sierra Juliano, who will operate the timer. 
• Mr. Tim LeBaron, Director, Office of Aviation Safety.
  

Behind me is Mr. Eric Johnson, who will provide legal support. 

Now, let’s turn to the parties to the hearing. 

Thank you all for your cooperation with our investigation to date.

Federal regulations guide how we designate parties to an NTSB investigation and investigative hearing. 

They are: “those persons, governmental agencies, and organizations whose special knowledge will contribute to the development of pertinent evidence.” 

The parties to this hearing have been designated in accordance with these regulations and selected for their technical expertise in their respective fields. 

As I call the name of each Party, I ask the designated spokesperson to identify themselves and then introduce others at their table. In alphabetical order: 

• ​Air Line Pilots Association? 
• Alaska Airlines?
• Association of Flight Attendants?
• Federal Aviation Administration? 
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers? 
• Spirit AeroSystems? 
  

Thank you. As a reminder, only party spokespersons may question the witnesses on behalf of their organization. 

As we announced on June 27, Boeing remains a party to the investigation, but not to this hearing. As such, the company will not be allowed to question the witnesses during these proceedings. However, I am very pleased that Boeing has joined us today; thank you for your continued work with us on this investigation. We have a shared goal, and that’s safety. Your assistance in developing the most compete and factual record for this investigation is critical. 

And that goes for all the parties. 

On behalf of the NTSB, I’d like to thank you for your assistance with our investigation thus far. 

Parties are essential in helping us develop the facts around an investigation.

With that said, as a reminder, all of your organizations have signed a party agreement that lays out rules of conduct, which remain in effect throughout the course of this investigation.

This includes, but is not limited to, the provisions of 49 CFR sections 831.11 and 831.13, which, respectively, specify certain criteria for participation in NTSB investigations and limitations on the dissemination of investigation information. 

I’m now going to ask each party spokesperson and the Boeing witnesses to indicate whether they understand and remain committed to upholding the NTSB party agreement in its entirety; please answer “yes” or “no.” 

• ​ALPA? 
• Alaska Airlines?
• AFA? 
• FAA? 
• IAM? 
• Spirit?
• Boeing?
  

Fantastic. We thank you for your continued cooperation. On behalf of the Board, I’d like to thank the many witnesses testifying at this Hearing in support of aviation safety. 

Witnesses will be questioned under oath; they will remain under oath until the conclusion of the Hearing. 

We ask that all witnesses be present for the entire hearing, both days, unless you have coordinated in advance with the Hearing Officer because you may be recalled later for further questioning.

The witnesses have been selected because of their ability to provide the best available information on the safety issues pertinent to this investigation.

The witness list was reviewed by the parties to the hearing last week, at the Pre-Hearing Conference.

In the interest of time, we will not describe the witnesses’ credentials. Instead, we have pre-qualified each witness by documenting their qualifications in writing. 

You may review each witness’s biographical information in the public docket, which opened to the public this morning.

I’d now like to provide a general overview of the Hearing and appropriate conduct for the proceedings. You may wish to refer to the Hearing agenda for more detail. 

We expect each day to run from 9 am to about 7 pm. With that said, we can and will go longer, if needed. 

We will break for a one-hour lunch at about 1:45 pm each day and as needed throughout. 

Today, Panel 1 will run from about 10 am until lunch; the topic is: Overview of Boeing 737-9 Manufacturing and Inspections.

Following lunch, Panel 2 will run until about 7 pm; it will cover the Events Surrounding the Opening and Closing of the Mid Exit Door Plug.

Tomorrow, we’ll begin with Panel 3: Safety Management Systems and Quality Management Systems, which will take us to the lunch break. 

Following lunch, we’ll have Panel 4 on Federal Aviation Administration Oversight; that will take us until about 7 pm. 

We will follow the same process for all panels: 

• ​​Mr. Brazy will re-introduce the members of the Technical Panel and swear in the witnesses.
  
• ​Witnesses will then be questioned in the following order:​

​​​o First, by the NTSB Technical Panel;

​o Next, by the Parties; and

​​​o Finally, by the Board of Inquiry.

Parties will have designated time during each panel to question the witnesses. Each party will keep their questions to five minutes or less; we have a timer to help you stay on track. We do anticipate being able to accommodate more than one round of questions per panel. 

I will make all rulings on the admissibility of exhibits, appropriateness of questions, and pertinence of proffered testimony. 

If a party spokesperson objects to any question asked during the hearing or wishes to discuss admissibility of an exhibit or the pertinence of proffered testimony, please raise your hand and wait to be recognized by me.

A word about conduct: this is not an adversarial hearing. This doesn’t mean tough questions won’t — or shouldn’t — be asked; they will and should; this is an investigation. However, the Board does not permit cross-examination of witnesses in the legal sense, nor do we assign fault or blame for an accident or incident. 

As a result, we will not permit questions related to fault, outside litigation, or legal liability in general. Questions related to legal liability or fault are not relevant to the fact-finding purposes of an NTSB investigative hearing or our statutory mission. We are here to improve safety. 

Before I invite the Hearing Officer to introduce the exhibits, I’d like to acknowledge the many people on “Team NTSB” who’ve made this Hearing possible: 

Thank you, all.