The manufacturer of the Alaska Airlines door plug that detached midair during a flight was the subject of a class action lawsuit last year that alleged “widespread quality failures.”
Boeing is under intense scrutiny after Friday’s mishap on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. A panel of the plane snapped off just six minutes after takeoff, leaving a gaping hole and passengers utterly terrified. The packed 737 Max 9 plane, bound for Ontario, California, returned to its takeoff point in Portland, Oregon.
Spirit AeroSystems, the manufacturer of that door plug, said on Wednesday it’s supporting the National Transportation Safety Board investigation into that Alaska Airlines flight. “As a company, we remain focused on the quality of each aircraft structure that leaves our facilities,” the company, which is not connected to Spirit Airlines, said in the statement.
Court documents reveal that Spirit AeroSystems’ investors have long had issues with the quality of the company’s products, especially after the 737 Max tragedies in October 2018 and March 2019 that saw two planes go down, killing all on board.
The company was the subject of a federal class action lawsuit, filed in New York in May 2023 by its investors, alleging a history of “constant” quality failures.
Spirit AeroSystems is the main supplier of parts to Boeing and one of its primary roles is manufacturing the majority of the fuselages used in Boeing 737 aircraft, the suit said.
Spirit AeroSystems did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment on the lawsuit. A spokesperson for Boeing responded the company has nothing to add regarding the suit.
While the suit didn’t specifically mention door plugs, that part of the plane is attached to fuselages.
The suit said that despite investor emphasis on the importance of the 737 Max program after the downed plane tragedies, Spirit AeroSystems made promises and shared statements about their refined processes and safeguards.
But the company allegedly “concealed…
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