The National Transportation Safety Board warned Boeing (BA.N) on Thursday it could lose its status as a party to the probe into a 737 MAX mid-air blowout after it violated rules by providing non-public information to media and speculating about possible causes.
LeBaron said the NTSB had considered removing Boeing as a party to the probe and added further infractions could lead to Boeing losing its party status, which would bar it from participating in the investigation.
"This disregard of the federal regulations and rules governing NTSB investigations cannot be tolerated," LeBaron wrote, noting the board had warned Boeing on March 13 about prior company comments.
He added that some of the remarks to media made by Elizabeth Lund, Boeing's senior vice president of quality, were "either inaccurate or unknown to the NTSB" while others had not been previously disclosed.
Boeing declined to comment directly on the letter, referring to an earlier apology it released after the NTSB said it was sanctioning the planemaker over the remarks to media.
The NTSB said Boeing would no longer see information produced during its probe, which involved the mid-air blowout of an Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) 737 MAX 9 door plug with four missing bolts. Unlike other parties, Boeing will now not be allowed to ask questions of other participants at a hearing on August 6-7.
LeBaron said the NTSB would subpoena Boeing witnesses to appear at the hearing, which are expected to include Lund.
The NTSB also said it would refer Boeing's recent conduct to the Department of Justice. In May, the DOJ said Boeing had violated a 2021 settlement with prosecutors that shielded it from criminal charges over interactions with the Federal Aviation Administration prior to MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
Separate to the issue with Lund, LeBaron said Boeing Chief Engineer Howard McKenzie during a U.S. Senate hearing this month made prohibited comments about a Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) "Dutch roll" incident, when he said the event "has nothing to do with design or manufacturing."
LeBaron said the NTSB "has not made any such determination, and our investigators have not yet ruled out design or manufacturing issues." Southwest declined to comment.
