Airline watchdog group demands answers from NTSB regarding Boeing crashes

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An airline safety advocacy group is accusing the National Transportation Safety Board of withholding "crucial evidence" in two international investigations of deadly plane crashes from several years ago.

The Foundation for Aviation Safety, led by former Boeing manager-turned-whistleblower Ed Pierson, is raising concerns about the NTSB's response to issues with the 737 Boeing Airliners in connection to two deadly plane crashes: 2018's Lion Air incident and 2019's Ethiopian Air incident.

Nearly 350 people died in these two accidents.

The watchdog group claims it uncovered evidence of issues with Boeing's electrical manufacturing that may hold weight in each case. However, they allege the NTSB is not sharing this information with international agencies and investigators as they should.

"I'm frustrated. I've been dealing with the NTSB for several years, FAA. We know there are good people that work in those agencies, just like at Boeing, there are great people that work there. But we're really disappointed in some of the leadership decisions," Pierson told KOIN 6 News.

The foundation also said they want the information forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The NTSB directed KOIN to a previous letter it recently sent to Pierson that said “similar concerns” first surfaced in the summer of 2022, and that “…there was no evidence to suggest that the airplane’s original manufacture played any role in the accident.”

Pierson's recent letter directed at the NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in part, "At this point you can ignore this letter and continue to deliberately withhold information from your international peers risking the safety of passengers and flight crew or share this information and assist investigators in following up."

As an advocate for airline safety, Pierson said he regularly stays in touch with the families whose loved ones died on both the Lion Air and Ethiopian flights. Back in July, he said those families were "furious" and "disappointed" over a plea deal in which Boeing pled guilty to criminal fraud in relation to the crashes.

Despite Boeing paying a $243 million fine and investing $455 million in safety measures as a result of the plea deal, Pierson said the families wanted a deeper investigation into what happened.

Compared to the aftermath of the 2018-19 fatal crashes, the Foundation for Aviation Safety said the NTSB's investigation into Boeing's safety issues was much more robust for the non-fatal Alaska Airlines incident in which a door plug blew out a plane mid-air above Portland nearly one year ago.

Boeing, which saw a management overhaul earlier in the year with a new CEO, declined to comment.