The antique aircraft’s owners—Dave and Jeanne Allen—were killed in the June 30 accident.

According to the preliminary report released by the agency (below), thick fog was reported by residents in the area at the time of the accident.

The Allens, from Elbert, Colorado, were both accomplished pilots. Dave was a retired airline pilot, and Jeanne flew gliders. The accident airplane, the teal cabin-class model, had been restored by the Allens and was one of the most photographed vintage airplanes at airshows and fly-ins.

• READ MORE: Award-Winning WACO YKC Restorers Killed in Kansas Crash 

What Happened

According to the NTSB preliminary report, on June 30 the Allens were planning to fly from Knox County Airport (4I3) in Mount Vernon, Ohio, to Oberlin Municipal Airport (KOIN) in  Kansas. According to SkyVector, the straight-line distance is approximately 829 nm. 

The Allens made two fuel stops en route—one at the Shelby County Airport (2H0) in Shelbyville, Illinois, around 8:40 a.m. CDT, and another at the Chillicothe Municipal Airport (KCHT) in Missouri, about 11:35 a.m.

The aircraft was not equipped for IFR flight as it was not required to be when it rolled off the assembly line in 1934. The panel of the WACO was period correct with the required original instruments, including an airspeed indicator, altimeter, slip-skid indicator, magnetic compass, and vertical speed indicator.

Investigators also found a hand-held Garmin GPSMAP 496 and an Appareo Stratus 3 in the aircraft. The circuit boards of both were recovered and retained for further examination.

While in Shelbyville, Jeanne Allen made the first of several text messages to the manager of Oberlin Municipal Airport stating that their estimated time of arrival would be around 5 p.m., according to the NTSB report. A second message sent later said that the weather was looking too low for VFR at Oberlin, so they would divert to Phillipsburg Municipal Airport (PHG) in Kansas, approximately 57 nm to the west.

From the ground, Dave Allen made several telephone calls to both the Oberlin Municipal Airport manager and a family friend in Colby, Kansas, to inquire about the weather en route and possible destinations.

According to the NTSB, the airport manager told him that the weather conditions included low ceilings and visibility, and he did not know when or if the weather would improve.

The family friend told investigators that, based on the telephone conversation, he assumed the couple would stay overnight in Colby.

The WACO took off from Chillicothe Municipal Airport at 5:10 p.m.. Approximately six minutes later, the passenger sent a text to the manager in Oberlin stating they were “going to try and go south to get out of this stuff.”

ATC radar data, beginning at 5:46 p.m., showed the airplane making several climbing turns starting at an altitude of 3,025 feet msl. The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of 4,625 feet msl over the accident site, then began descending right bank. Data was lost by 5:49 p.m. The last readout shows the aircraft on a heading of 75 degrees, with a groundspeed of 109 knots and an altitude of 3,800 feet msl, which put it approximately 1,050 feet agl.

The accident site was in a flat agricultural field about 0.10 nm southeast of the last received ATC radar position. The impact marks and debris were consistent with the airplane hitting the ground in about a 90-degree right bank and about 40-degree nose-down attitude. There was a postaccident fire.

NTSB said that an oil rig crew, located about a half mile from the accident site, reported that fog was so dense it could not see the top of its derrick.

The NTSB final report with the probable cause of the accident is expected to be released in about 18 months.

The post NTSB Releases Prelim Report on Vintage WACO YKC Crash appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Wings Over the Rockies is a Colorado-based, nonprofit organization that supports educational programming at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum.

This year’s scholarship winners will receive $12,000 for the pursuit of a private pilot certificate in either a single-engine airplane or a glider. The awards are made possible by the Ray Foundation, an organization that “provides grants for programs and educational organizations primarily in aviation that develop life skills such as honesty, worth ethic, self-confidence, and self-discipline.”

Scholarship applicants were subjected to a rigorous evaluation and interview process conducted by representatives from Wings Over the Rockies, the Captain Jeppesen Foundation, and other partner organizations, including Daedalian Flight 18, the Colorado Pilots Association, and the Colorado Aviation Business Association (CABA).

This year 119 students applied, and more than 50 made it to the interview process. Each scholarship recipient was assigned a mentor to guide them through the training process, which included both flight time and a thorough study regime to help them reach certification.

“Our future is bright with the up and coming students who want to pursue a career in aviation,” said retired U.S. Air Force Major General John Barry, president and CEO of Wings Over the Rockies. “We hope to continue to expand this scholarship program in the future and are incredibly grateful to the Ray Foundation for making this scholarship program available to Colorado’s future pilots.”

Since the program was launched in 2019, 150 high school students in Colorado ages 15 to 19 have received more than $1.3 million in scholarship awards. 

The post 26 Colorado High School Students Awarded Flight Training Scholarships appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Development of Confidence

The learner’s confidence often comes from their trust of the instructor.

Does your instructor inspire confidence? Do they have a vested interest in your training? Do they get excited for you when you reach a milestone like your first solo? Do they come up with creative ways of teaching when you are having difficulty? Or do they become frustrated when you’re not getting it and complain that they are “too good” to “still be a CFI?” 

• READ MORE: How Do You Obtain a Student Pilot Certificate After a Break in Training?

While you don’t necessarily have to like your instructor, you do need to respect them, and they need to respect you for learning to take place. If respect is not present, the best thing to do is change instructors.

Practice and Drill

“Why are we doing this again?” the learner asked when the CFI asked for a demonstration of ground reference maneuvers. 

The answer is because practice and drill increase proficiency, and proficiency results in confidence. A good portion of your flight training will be reviewed to make sure you consistently meet the airman certification standards (ACS).

On the ground drill can mean taking practice knowledge tests—as few as 10 questions at a time —until the material is learned, or going through practice check ride oral exams until the material is understood, not just delivered by rote.

What Hurts Confidence

Confidence is shaken if the learner gets the impression the CFI is making up answers to questions or if the CFI puts the learner into dangerous situations, like flying in a thunderstorm or icing conditions.

Some CFIs make excuses, like the CFI who flew into a closed airport twice (two different airports) with a learner because he didn’t check the NOTAMs. I asked the CFI why he didn’t check the NOTAMs before the flight and was told “that’s the student’s job.” Riiiiiight. Apparently he hadn’t taught his learner how to check NOTAMs because no one taught him.

• READ MORE: When Flight Training Stalls

If a flight is going poorly, the worst thing an instructor can do is tell the learner “just sit back, I’ll take us back to the airport.” It’s much better if the CFI engages the learner, if at all possible. If they don’t physically want to fly, have them run the radios, do navigation—all the while asking them to take the controls again.

The exception to this is when the learner does something willfully dangerous, like attempting to buzz something on the ground or not listening to the CFI when they tell the learner to go around. If the CFI has to take the controls to prevent a crash because the learner cannot follow directions, remove them from training.

Disengaged CFI

If the instructor views teaching as a chore, or complains how they want to move on, the learner can start to wonder if they are truly getting an education or simply paying for someone else to pad their logbook. This erodes learner confidence.

I wish I had a dollar for all the times I have heard pilot candidates remark they weren’t sure if they learned anything from their CFI because the flights were pretty much the CFI just sitting there. There was no feedback, good or bad.

A lack of communication can make a learner doubt themselves. I tell my learners if I am quiet in the cockpit, they are doing a good job. I learned to say this because a rather anxious young man was worried I was upset with him as his father had warned him, “It’s never good when a woman is quiet.”

Identifying What Makes You Anxious

If there is something that makes you anxious about flying, let your CFI know what it is. A good CFI will help you deconstruct the issue and come up with a workable solution for improving your confidence.

For example, if you are worried about getting lost, plan a dual cross-country flight using only pilotage and dead reckoning. Cover up the magnetic compass and make the GPS and VOR off-limits for this exercise.

The CFI might even toss in a divert. On the next flight add in a VOR (if available) and have the learner triangulate their position. Once you have that down cold, add in the GPS as a backup measure during cross-country flights.

Landings

Landings can cause anxiety. The ground is rushing up at you, and if you don’t have good airspeed control or there’s a crosswind that is taxing your capability, it’s easy to scare yourself.

Break down the process to identify the items that are giving you the issue: Is it staying ahead of the airplane? Run the checklist to get a better grasp on the procedures and “chair fly” the pattern, identifying what speeds and altitudes you are at on each leg.

• READ MORE: The Art of Ground School

If you are having trouble determining when to flare, have your CFI demonstrate how to fly 6 inches over the runway in the landing attitude, then do a go-around. The learner repeats this maneuver until they get comfortable.

Crosswinds

Since we can’t control the weather, an aviation training device (ATD) is excellent for learning how to handle crosswinds.

Start with crosswinds at 30 degrees and work up to 90 degrees and increase velocity. The learner gains muscle memory in the sim that can be replicated in the aircraft. Then make it a point to fly on wind days to get real-world experience.

You will be surprised at how much more confident you feel

Check Ride Oral Exam

It is often said that check ride failures most often happen during the oral exam rather than the flying portion.

If you have test anxiety, ask your CFI to set up mock oral exams for you. These need to be more than just reading out of the oral exam guide. Have another CFI put you through your paces. 

Understand that the purpose of the mock oral exams is to find the soft spots so that they can be reinforced before the actual check ride.

Overconfidence

The opposite end of the spectrum is the overconfident pilot who resents instruction.

If the learner has flown with another CFI who didn’t do preflight and post-flight briefings, or didn’t use a syllabus or emphasize checklist use, the learner can become resentful of the replacement CFI, suggesting they are trying to undermine the learner’s confidence by showing them what they don’t know. That’s the wrong attitude for a learner to take.

Every time you fly with a different CFI, anticipate you will learn something, just as CFIs pick up something from each learner they fly with.

CFIs need to be careful not to criticize the previous instructor, or say things like, “I can’t believe you don’t know this.” That can be a challenge sometimes, like when the learner doesn’t do clearing turns or use the rudders in flight.

“My other instructor told me not to do that,” or “my other instructor never made me do that,” are red flag phrases which usually translate to “something was lost in translation.”

If a learner is successful in another aspect of life, like their career, they can be of the mind that learning to fly will be very easy for them. When it isn’t, that can be a challenge to their self esteem.

The CFI can help the learner by pointing out that learning is a process, and anything as skill and knowledge dependent as flying is going to take time and practice and patience. Both the learner and CFI need to recognize this so that learning can take place.

The post The Confidence Factor in Learning to Fly appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to Piper, the M700 Fury, which was certified in March, underwent “rigorous testing for unpaved field certification.”

“The Fury’s performance was exceptional,” Ron Gunnarson, vice president of sales, marketing, and customer support at Piper Aircraft, said in a statement. “The aircraft’s robust design and construction quality ensured seamless operations in all test conditions. The certification process was also smooth with the Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) flight test being completed in just one day.”

• READ MORE: Piper Lifts the Veil on the M700 Fury, Its Fastest Single Yet

Safety is key with the Piper Fury, according to the company. The airframe comes standard with a G3000 avionics suite, including autothrottle, emergency descent mode, electronic stability protection, SurfaceWatch, SafeTaxi, and Garmin PlaneSync, along with the HALO Safety System, featuring Garmin Emergency Autoland. 

The system is designed to allow the aircraft to land safely at the nearest suitable airport in the event the pilot is incapacitated.

• READ MORE: Piper Announces FAA Type Certification for M700 Fury

The powerplant of the M700 Fury is a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52 700 SHP capable of a maximum cruise speed of 301 ktas. The Fury has a standard useful load of 2,320 pounds and a range of approximately 1,852 nm.

The single-engine aircraft can be configured for executive transport, a cargo hauler, or both.

The post FAA Clears Piper M700 for Unpaved Field Operations appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This question is being asked at flight schools across the country as the CFI world and the nonaviation media are sharing the story of 36-year-old Philip Everton McPherson II, from Haddon Township, New Jersey. McPherson faces one count of involuntary manslaughter for the crash of the Piper PA-28-140 on September 28, 2022, that killed student pilot Keith Kozel, 49.

A federal grand jury indicted McPherson on August 1. He was arrested at his home on August 5.

• READ MORE: NTSB Releases Prelim Report on Fatal Oshkosh Accident

McPherson’s commercial and CFI certificates were surrendered to the FAA more than a year before the accident because he had failed a 44709 ride (reexamination for airman privileges).

FLYING Magazine obtained a copy of the 11-page indictment that said McPherson “acted with gross negligence because he knew that he was not competent to safely fly an aircraft as the pilot in command.” According to the indictment, his commercial pilot and instructor certificates were surrendered to the FAA in October 2021 after he failed a reexamination ride.

McPherson was employed by ProFlite Aero Services in Easton, Pennsylvania. FLYING’s attempts to contact the flight school for comment were unsuccessful. The website for the business is no longer in operation.

According to the indictment, in 2021 the FAA received a hotline complaint about McPherson’s alleged poor airmanship that included going off the runway on two different occasions while flying with a student, resulting in substantial damage to the aircraft.

• READ MORE: PC-12 Crash Claims Members of Prominent Gospel Singing Group

The first off-runway event was on November 18, 2020, when during the second attempt to land a Cessna 172 in a gusting crosswind the aircraft went off the side of the runway and the nosewheel failed, and the aircraft flipped onto its back. The winds near the site were reported as 13 knots gusting to 25.

The second event was on March 6, 2021, but FLYING was unable to locate the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident report for it.

The indictment notes the FAA made several attempts to reach McPherson—first by letter then by telephone—as part of its investigation to set up a reexamination ride. When he finally did the reexamination flight with the agency, he botched a go-around and the FAA safety inspector had to take the controls to prevent a crash, per the indictment.

After surrendering his commercial and CFI tickets, McPherson was granted a temporary certificate that allowed him to fly by himself or with another instructor in order to gain the skills necessary to regain his certifications. The temporary certificate carries the warning: “Carrying of Passengers Prohibited.”

McPherson did not request another reexamination ride, nor did he ask for an extension of the temporary certificate, which expired on November 8, 2021. But he continued to serve as a flight instructor carrying passengers.The indictment includes two pages of the initials of students and dates of flights.

He faces an additional 40 counts of serving as an airman without a certificate as he continued to fly with passengers and as an instructor between October 12, 2021, and September 2022.

The Fatal Flight

According to the NTSB, the fatal flight took off at 1:40 ET. McPherson told the agency the purpose of the flight was to go to a towered airport nearby so Kozel, the student who had 51 hours, could practice towered-airport operations.

McPherson instructed Kozel to perform a soft field takeoff. The aircraft was sluggish during the takeoff roll and had trouble obtaining airspeed. Kozel flew the airplane in ground effect trying to build up airspeed, and at least once the aircraft settled back on to the runway.

• READ MORE: NTSB Releases Details on 2 Lockheed 12A Crashes

McPherson allowed the takeoff to continue, but when the aircraft had trouble climbing above 200 feet, he took the controls. He told NTSB investigators that the engine was not producing full power, and there were trees ahead of them and no open places to land.

The Piper struck the trees and became inverted, coming down hard and catching fire. McPherson told investigators that Kozel was unresponsive after the crash. McPherson claimed he was injured but was able to drag himself away from the burning airplane. He told investigators he saw people approaching him and begged them to get Kozel out of the wreckage, but the fire was consuming the aircraft.

A witness account of the accident differs. The witness said he pulled McPherson from the wreckage and then tried to rescue Kozel, but the flames drove him back.

It should be noted that the Piper Cherokee only has a door on the right side of the fuselage. The instructor traditionally sits on the right side of the aircraft.

The NTSB ruled the cause of the accident to be a “partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.” The investigation noted that the weather conditions at the time were conducive to the “development of serious icing at glide power and was between the range for icing at glide and cruise power and serious icing at cruise power.”

According to the investigative docket, at the time of the accident McPherson reported having 1,350 hours total time of which 700 was in Piper Cherokees, with his last flight review or equivalent happening in March 2021. He also reported having flown 40 hours in the previous 90 days.

McPherson was arrested at his home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on August 5. He pled not guilty to all the charges and was released the same day after posting a $50,000 bond and surrendering his passport.

If convicted he could face a maximum possible sentence of 128 years in prison and a $10.25 million fine, and a $4,100 special assessment. He has been assigned a public defender. 

According to the Office of the Inspector General, the case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorney Robert Schopf and special assistant U.S. attorney Marie Miller.

The post Illegal CFI Faces Charge of Involuntary Manslaughter appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to EarthX, lithium-ion batteries are significantly lighter than traditional lead acid batteries.

“If you’re replacing the Concorde RG24-11 lead acid battery, you go from a 26.5-pound battery to a 7.2-pound battery—that is 19.3 pounds of instant weight reduction,” EarthX said in a statement. “That gives you a few more pounds of useful load.”

In addition, the life span of the EarthX battery is twice that of a lead acid battery. EarthX also points out that it cannot “freeze, boil over, lose electrolyte, corrode, or sulfate.”

• READ MORE: Electric Regional Aircraft Developer Lands Battery Manufacturing Hub

For pilots who have ever been surprised by a dead battery, the EarthX has a battery management system (BMS) that communicates directly to the pilot if there is anything outside of normal operation through either a flashing or solid LED light.

“This provides useful information not only for the pilot, but also your mechanic, to make the best-informed decisions,” EarthX said.

Once the EarthX is installed, a new weight and balance for the aircraft needs to be done, as is standard procedure when an STC is applied. EarthX does the STC paperwork for the customer, free of charge.

The 24V TSO-certified battery is available for $999, and the 12V TSO-certified battery for $699.

The initial kit for installation ranges from $195-$295, depending on the airframe.

More information can be found here. 

The post EarthX Aircraft Batteries Earn STC Approval appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Can you imagine learning about aviation not to mention your ABCs this way? Some lucky preschoolers in Florida are having this opportunity through the STEM Sprouts program at the Aerospace Center for Excellence at the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland.

“We have had story time at the museum for two years now, and this program is an outgrowth of story time and part of our philosophy of cradle to cockpit, where we get preschoolers interested in aviation,” said Jennilyn Crump, youth program coordinator for the Aerospace Center for Excellence.

According to Crump, the program, designed for ages 3 to 5, is an age-appropriate way to get children interested in aviation.

• READ MORE: Bring Aviation to Middle Schools

“At this age they are like sponges and interested in anything that moves, like cars, trains, and airplanes,” Crump said. “We’re going to get them excited about airplanes and aviation and build on that.”

The class is open to 15 children and their caregivers. It is described as hands-on, skill-based learning that uses playtime to educate.

“Each class will last a little more than an hour and will consist of 30 minutes of circle or learning time and 30 minutes of center time,” Crump said. “The center time will consist of math, literacy, art, and other miscellaneous activities that are related to the ‘word of the day.’ [An example would be] ‘aerodynamics.’”

The children will learn that aerodynamics is the study of air and how things move through it, and since water behaves like air, there will bea tub of water to demonstrate how certain objects passing through the water behave differently.

The class activity could be teaching directions, using small gliders and an airplane-letter match, passport stamps, or a cloud-letter search and identifying different letters.

And because these are small children, expect there will be singing and dancing to add to the fun.

“Our hope is that if this class is successful, next year we will be able to build classes to support higher grade levels up through at least fifth grade,” said Crump.

The program debuts in September and will be held for 26 weeks on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. ET.

According to Crump, aviation will be a springboard to other STEM topics.

“For example, when we get to the letter ‘S,’ we will talk about seaplanes and use that to explore the science of ponds and aquatic life,” she said.

The goals of the program are to foster a love of learning in the children, lay a foundation of STEM knowledge to prepare them for school, and hopefully provide a lifelong relationship with aviation.

The education center plans on building on the STEM Sprouts to create more age-appropriate programs for elementary and perhaps even middle school students.

The STEM Sprouts program can only accommodate 15 children and their caregivers, so preregistration is required. If there is enough demand, a second class may be added. Each class costs $10. Registration opens August 1.

For more information, email Crump at jcrump@flysnf.org.

The post STEM Sprouts Program to Offer Unique Learning for Little Ones appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Two flight instructors, Samantha Bowyer and James “Steve” Rutland, were recognized by the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) for their contributions to aviation education. The awards were presented during the annual NAFI breakfast at Oshkosh.

Jack J. Eggspuehler Award

Bowyer, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was named as the winner of the Jack J. Eggspuehler Award for her role in organizing and executing the first NAFI Summit in Lakeland, Florida, in October 2023.

• READ MORE: NAFI Unveils Newest Flight Instructor Hall of Fame Inductees

Bowyer holds degrees in business and project management and was instrumental in organizing the inaugural event.

Eggspuehler was the founder of NAFI and led the organization for some 30 years. The award that carries his name is the association’s highest honor. Bestowed by the board of directors, it recognizes the member, organization, or industry leader that has gone above and beyond in service to NAFI for the benefits of its members.

Greg J. Laslo Excellence in Writing Award

Rutland, a lifelong fixed- and rotor-wing instructor and author, received the 2024 Laslo award for his contributions to NAFI publications, including its Mentor magazine.

Rutland’s career spans military and civilian aviation. He holds instructor certificates for both fixed-wing and rotor-wing flying and has logged approximately 18,000 hours dual given. His writing contributions to NAFI’s Mentor are seen on a monthly basis.

• READ MORE: King Schools, NAFI Team Up to Offer CFI Training Scholarship

“Steve is one of the most impressive individuals I have ever met,” said Beth Stanton, NAFI’s director of publications and editor in chief of Mentor. “Steve shares his vast experience and knowledge in multiple ways—in the cockpit, classroom, flight simulator, and in writing.”

About NAFI

The National Association of Flight Instructors was created more than 50 years ago to raise and maintain the professional standards of aviation educators. The organization has more than 8,000 members made up of aviation training professionals who abide by a code of ethics.

The organization reaches the aviation community through its monthly magazine, weekly newsletters, podcasts, and MentorLIVE streamed events.

For more information: nafinet.org.

The post NAFI Honors 2 Deserving Flight Instructors appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“Restoring trust starts with meeting our commitments, whether that’s building high-quality, safe commercial aircraft, delivering on defense and space products that allow our customers to meet their mission, or servicing our products to keep our customers running 24/7,” Ortberg’s message said. “It also means meeting our commitments to each other and working collaboratively across Boeing to meet our goals. People’s lives depend on what we do every day, and we must keep that top of mind with every decision we make.”

Boeing’s reputation took a tumble in the wake of the 2018 and 2019 737 Max crashes that were attributed to a design flaw, resulting in a 20-month FAA grounding of the aircraft and the January 2024 loss of a door plug during an Alaska Airlines flight.

The latter has been the topic of two days of hearings before the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy noted that the agency still needs to determine how the jet (Alaska Airlines Flight 1282) left the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, missing four crucial bolts that held the door in place.

• READ MORE: NTSB Hears Testimony of Boeing Retaliation for Workers’ Mistakes

Ortberg will be based in Seattle, stating that it is important to be close to the place where the bulk of Boeing’s aircraft are made. William Boeing, the founder of the company, chose the Puget Sound because the first airplanes were made of spruce, and the area was rife with spruce forests. When aircraft manufacturing turned to metal, Boeing adapted, creating Washington factories in Everett, Renton and Seattle.

In 2001 when Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago, and later Virginia, many industry experts suggested the aerospace giant’s focus had shifted from turning out quality products to increasing profit, even if it meant cutting corners. They also predicted that having the headquarters so far from the main factories would result in a degradation of product quality.

Ortberg announced he would be spending his first day on the job on the factory floor in Renton, “talking with employees and learning about challenges we need to overcome, while also reviewing our safety and quality plans.”

Ortberg, who brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role, vowed to be transparent with Boeing employees.

• READ MORE: Boeing Names New CEO to Lead Through ‘Consequential Period’

“Soon I’ll be visiting many of our sites and I look forward to meeting with teammates around the world,” his message to employees said. “In speaking with our customers and industry partners leading up to [Thursday], I can tell you that, without exception, everyone wants us to succeed.”

In addition to winning back the trust of the air traveling public, Ortberg will be faced with improving Boeing’s financial situation. The 737 Max crashes and door plug accident have sent the company’s stock prices into a nosedive.

The post First Day at the Office for New Boeing CEO appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On Wednesday in Washington, D.C., NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy noted the investigation into the door plug blowout in January near Portland, Oregon, has revealed that the message to Boeing workers is “you mess up, you get moved.”

The 737 flying as Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had been in service less than four months when it lost a door plug on January 5 shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX). The airline grounded its fleet of 737 Max 9s and the FAA followed suit, keeping the airplanes on the ground out of an abundance of caution.

• READ MORE: NTSB Grills Boeing Over Max 9 Door Plug Loss

Within two weeks, the NTSB determined the door plug had been reinstalled without four retaining bolts. Two crews who flew the aircraft prior to the blowout reported issues with the pressurization system. The aircraft was slated to go into maintenance.

On the first day of testimony on Tuesday, Boeing officials stated that during the build process the door plug was removed from the fuselage at the Renton, Washington, factory in order to replace substandard rivets. The required paperwork authorizing and tracking the removal and subsequent reinstallation has still not been found.

Homendy stressed that no evidence has been discovered to suggest the improper installation of the door plug was anything more than a mistake. Boeing has stated there is a no-retaliation policy, and it should not implement disciplinary action for unintentional mistakes.

However, Homendy questioned that assertion, citing a decision by Boeing to move two members of the door installation crew from the plant at Renton to the factory in Everett, Washington, describing it as “a form of retaliation.” There were references to Boeing employees calling the Everett facility a “cage,” “jail,” or “prison” for workers who speak up about safety issues or report mistakes.

• READ MORE: Boeing Names New CEO to Lead Through ‘Consequential Period’

During the proceedings there were several mentions of how lucky the people aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had been, as there were injuries but no loss of life. Several officials noted that had the aircraft been much higher, the damage and outcome likely would have been much different.

A representative from the flight attendants union described his emotions when he learned of the blowout on the jet that had only been in service since October, realizing he had been assigned to the aircraft on a previous trip.

Much of the testimony over the past two days carried the theme of an “accident waiting to happen” because of a lack of oversight, rush jobs, and hastily trained and overworked technicians. Those who testified spoke of a factory culture where employee training is rushed or sometimes incomplete. In addition, employee turnover is frequent, resulting in employees with limited experience who don’t recognize a mistake or hazard on the floor during the build process.

Boeing officials touted the “speak up” process that encourages employees to call attention to airplane safety issues by reporting them to a manager or anonymously. However, many employees when questioned stated that they were not familiar with the “speak up” process, or they feared retaliation, saying “nothing within the Boeing system is confidential.”

• READ MORE: Boeing to Plead Guilty in DOJ 737 Max Crash Cases

It was noted that Boeing has faced accusations of retaliation against whistleblowers in the past, most notably in 2018 and 2019 after the two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people. Both crashes were attributed to the MCAS, an automated system that put the aircraft into unrecoverable dives shortly after takeoff. The subsequent investigation revealed the pilots had not been told of or trained on the use of the system.

FAA representatives stated that the agency hotline has received an increase in reports of safety concerns from Boeing employees and those from Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing contractor that builds the components of the 737 fuselage, such as the door plugs, since the accident.

The post NTSB Hears Testimony of Boeing Retaliation for Workers’ Mistakes appeared first on FLYING Magazine.