'This Should've Been Caught Years Ago:' Boeing Faces NTSB Heat Over 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines Mid-Air Blowout Incident

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. BA is set to be probed for its role in last year's Alaska Air Group Inc. ALK Flight 1282 incident involving a sudden loss of pressure in the aircraft's fuselage.

What Happened: The NTSB or National Transportation Safety Board, is set to hold a hearing to determine the cause of the mid-air blowout, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The agency is set to question Boeing's failure to catch the issue and address the lax production. "This accident should have never happened. This should have been caught years before,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in the report, citing her quote from an earlier hearing.

Why It Matters: Boeing has been dealing with troubled times in recent years, with several high-profile incidents involving its aircraft. Most recently, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft operated by Air India crashed in India's Ahmedabad, moments after takeoff, which resulted in over 241 deaths.

Boeing also avoided prosecution for a trial involving its aircraft over two incidents in 2018 and 2019 when the 737 Max Aircraft crashed, resulting in a combined loss of over 346 lives in both incidents.

Boeing's perception among consumers has also taken a hit due to the incidents, with several users taking to social media to express their discontentment with the American aerospace giant.

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