US sanctions Boeing for leaking information about 737 Max 9 probe to media

Boeing is being sanctioned by US investigators for sharing information about a federal investigation of a door plug blowout that left a gaping hole in a Boeing 737 Max 9.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday that Boeing blatantly violated the agency's investigative regulations as well as a signed agreement by providing non-public investigative information to the media and speculating about possible causes of the January 5 door plug blowout on a Boeing passenger jet in Portland, Oregon.

During the incident, a panel that plugged a space left for an extra emergency door blew off an Alaska Airlines Max 9. Pilots were able to land safely, and there were no injuries.

The NTSB said that on Tuesday during a media briefing, a Boeing executive provided non-public investigative information to the media about the Alaska Airlines incident that the agency had not verified or authorized for release.

The NTSB said that Boeing portrayed the NTSB's investigation as a search