Senators Press NTSB on Missing Boeing Records in Alaska Airlines 1282 Probe

The Senate Commerce Committee pressed National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy on March 6 over the pace of evidence production in the investigation of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which lost a door plug in flight.

Homendy told the committee that NTSB investigators have repeatedly requested records and personnel lists from Boeing related to the opening, closing and any removal of the door plug at Boeing’s Renton facility but have not received them. "Boeing has not provided us with the documents and information that we have requested numerous times over the past few months," Homendy said. "We don't know who actually opened the door plug." She said investigators have identified a 25-person team that worked on doors in Renton but have not been given the names or associated records.

Committee members highlighted the investigative significance of the missing materials: documentation of procedures, shift logs, and security camera footage that could identify who performed the rivet and door-plug work and when. Homendy said NTSB teams are on-site in Renton conducting interviews and that investigators, working from photographs, emails and lab analysis, have been able to reconstruct some events but still lack primary records. "There are two options: either the documents exist and we don't have them, or they do not exist," she told senators.

Ranking members asked for firm follow-up. The committee chair asked Homendy to provide a written update in one week listing whether Boeing had supplied the 25 names and any accompanying documentation. Homendy agreed to respond in writing and to include the requested materials—if available.

The NTSB chair explained that the agency has used lab analysis to establish that several safety-critical retaining bolts were missing from the left mid-exit door plug assembly and described how the plug "migrated upwards" across a series of flights before separating. She said NTSB teams covering structures, operations, survival factors and maintenance records are working concurrently to determine how the assembly was configured and maintained.

Committee members repeatedly emphasized the board’s authority to subpoena materials if cooperation is not forthcoming. Homendy said the NTSB has subpoena authority and is prepared to use it when necessary, but she also said the agency prefers voluntary cooperation to speed investigations and avoid legal delays.

The hearing record remained open for follow-up questions; senators indicated they would send additional written requests to Boeing and the FAA if materials were not provided.