NTSB sanctions Boeing for disclosing details of Max 737 investigation

The National Transportation Security Board announced Thursday that it would issue sanctions against Boeing, after the aerospace company violated the agency's investigative regulations.

Boeing allegedly provided information on aspects of an ongoing investigation into a Boeing 737 Max 9 door panel that blew out in mid-air in January, the Associated Press reported. The incident result in a major internal, external and public relations crisis about safety issues at the commercial airline maker. 

NTSB said a Boeing executive who commented on the investigation in a media briefing on Tuesday had mischaracterized the investigation as trying to find the culprit. As a result, the company will no longer have access to investigative information regarding the January incident.

"The NTSB is focused on the probable cause of the accident, not placing blame on any individual or assessing liability," the agency said, per NBC News.

The federal agency does not have the power to fine Boeing, but it could have removed the company as a party in the investigation. However, NTSB said it still needed the company's expertise.

The new sanctions come as Boeing faces another accusation that it violated a "deferred prosecution" agreement that was reached in 2021, which protected the company from criminal prosecution over fatal Max 737 crashes in Indonesia, and Ethiopia. 

The aerospace company has maintained that it did not violate the agreement, and vowed to cooperate with the Justice Department in its investigation into the alleged violations.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.