4 bolts missing from Alaska Airlines door plug before blow-out: NTSB report

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- New concerns about airline safety following that preliminary report from the NTSB on the door plug that flew off an Alaska airlines plane last month. Federal investigators saying bolts that were supposed to hold that door in place, were not there. We're now getting more insight from investigators on how this may have happened. Four crucial bolts should have been in place on the door plug of this Alaska airlines 737 max 9. But a new report from the NTSB says the bolts were removed and never put back on. The door plug flying off mid air last month.

The NTSB says there was an unrelated issue with the fuselage during manufacture. To fix it, the door plug had to be removed. When the plug was put back on, investigators say the bolts, designed to hold it in place, were never re-installed. John Nance says "It's perfectly logical to assume that the bolster in place before the door was open for maintenance, on the line. but once the door was closed up again behind the insulation, the problem was nobody had put the bolts back in."

A photo shared between Boeing staffers showed at least three of those crucial bolts where missing after the work was completed. Turns out... the plane flew nearly 150 times with those bolts missing, before the door plug flew off. "What's really terrifying is that this airplane flew about 150 times with this situation just ticking away like a time bomb," said John Nance. This week the head of the FAA testified on Capitol Hill and said things need to change. Michael Whitaker, FAA admin says "The current system is not working because it is not delivering safe aircraft". In a statement Boeing CEO said "whatever final conclusions are reached the company will be accountable for what happened."