Boeing shares slide 8% in premarket trading after FAA grounds dozens of 737 Max 9s

SO THEY DID — IT ALL HAPPENED? >> YEAH, IT DID. >> AND IT IS 2024? GOT THAT RIGHT? >> IT IS 2024. AND BOEING SHARES THIS MORNING ARE GETTING HIT PRETTY HARD IN THE PREMARKET. THE FAA GROUNDING SCORES OF 737 MAX 9D PLANES AFTER A PIECE OF THE AIRCRAFT BLEW OUT DURING AN ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHT ON FRIDAY. PHIL LeBEAU JOINS US WITH MORE ON THIS. PHIL, A LOT OF QUESTIONS. >> OH, DEFINITELY, BECKY, AND I DON’T THINK WE’RE GOING TO HAVE ANSWERS. I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF WE HAVE ANSWERS TODAY. MAYBE WE’LL GET SOME MORE

ANSWERS IN TERMS OF EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED AND A MOVE TOWARDS A SOLUTION IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. BUT IF THAT HAPPENS, I THINK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY, WOW, BOEING IS GETTING OFF RELATIVELY KW QUICKLY IN TERMS OF A MAJOR, MAJOR SCARE FOR THE AIRLINE, FOR THE COMPANY AS WELL AS FOR THE AIRLINES THAT FLY THE MAX 9. EVERYBODY HAS SEEN THE VIDEO THAT CAME OUT OVER THE WEEKEND FROM INSIDE THE ALASKA AIRLINES PLANE. WE’LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN JUST A LITTLE BIT. HERE’S THE FOCUS OF THE INVESTIGATION. THE FUSELAGE PLUG, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY

WHERE AN EMERGENCY DOOR WOULD BE. IT’S BEEN PLUGGED AS PART OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. THE PRESSURIZATION PROBLEMS WITH THIS PARTICULAR AIRCRAFT THREE TIMES

BEFORE THIS INCIDENT. THE NTSB DESCRIBES THEM AT LEAST INITIALLY AS BEING BENIGN ISSUES, BUT DID THAT PLAY A ROLE IN WHAT ULTIMATELY HAPPENED IN THE AIR AND THE GROUNDING DURATION IS UNCLEAR. THE SEATS NEXT TO THE AIRCRAFT OR NEAR THE PLUG THAT WAS STRIPPED OFF THE PLANE, THEY WERE EMPTY. THANK GOODNESS BECAUSE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE, AND THIS HAPPENED EARLY IN THE FLIGHT. HERE’S THE NTSB TALKING ABOUT JUST HOW LUCKY

EVERYBODY WAS THAT THIS WAS NOT A WORSE ACCIDENT. >> THE AIRCRAFT WAS AROUND 16,000 FEET AND ONLY TEN MINUTES OUT FROM THE — FROM THE AIRPORT WHEN THE DOOR BLEW. FORTUNATELY THEY WERE NOT AT CRUISE ALTITUDE OF 30,000 OR 35,000 FEET. THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE IN CRUISE, EVERYBODY’S UP AND WALKING, FOLKS DON’T HAVE SEAT BELTS ON. THEY’RE GOING TO RESTROOMS. THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS ARE PROVIDING SERVICE TO PASSENGERS. WE COULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH SOMETHING MUCH MORE TRAGIC. >> VERY, VERY FORTUNATE. HERE’S WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE GROUNDING. THERE ARE 218 MAX 9s THAT

HAVE BEEN DELIVERED, BUT ONLY 171 ARE GROUNDED. THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE THE FUSELAGE PLUG. THE REMAINDER ARE NOT GROUNDED. UNITED HAS 79 PLANES THAT ARE GROUNDED. ALASKA HAS 65. SIX OTHER FOREIGN AIRLINES HAVE THE REMAINING 74, AND THIS IS A RELATIVELY NEW AIRCRAFT IN QUESTION WITH ALASKA AIRLINES. SO IT WAS ONLY DELIVERED ON NOVEMBER 30th. SO WHAT HAPPENED OR OCTOBER 31st, IR SHOULD SAY. WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN THEN AND THIS INCIDENT OVER THE WEEKEND? THAT WILL BE AT THE HEART OF THIS INVESTIGATION AS THE NTSB LOOKS NOT ONLY AT THE AIRCRAFT BACK AT THE

AIRPORT IN PORTLAND, BUT ALSO THE FUSELAGE PLUG, WHICH HAS BEEN RECOVERED. IT FELL INTO A BACKYARD IN SUBURBAN PORTLAND. THEY NOW HAVE THAT. THEY’LL LOOK AT THAT. THEY’LL LOOK AT THE COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER AS WELL AS THE FLIGHT DATA RECORDER. THEY’LL TRY TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WITH THIS INCIDENT, AND DOES IT PORTEND OR INDICATE THAT THERE MIGHT BE A BROADER ISSUE WITH OTHER 737 MAX DASH 9s. THE IMPORTANT THING FOR A LOT OF INVESTORS THIS MORNING SEPARATE FROM THIS INVESTIGATION IS WHETHER OR NOT THIS HAS LEGS. WILL THIS MEAN BOEING

HAS TO SLOW DOWN PLANS FOR RAMPING UP MAX PRODUCTION, WHICH THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF 2026. THERE IS A BIG SCHEDULED INCREASE PLANNED FOR MAX PRODUCTION INCLUDING THE MAX-9. TAKE A LOOK AT SHARES OF SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS. SEEMS LIKE WE TALK ABOUT SPIRIT EVERY SIX OR SEVEN WEEKS, THERE’S ANOTHER ISSUE. THE STOCK IS GETTING HAMMERED TODAY. SPIRIT MAKES THE FUSELAGE FOR THE MAX. IT MADE THE MAX PLUG IN QUESTION THAT IS AT THE HEART OF THIS INVESTIGATION. WE’VE REACHED OUT TO SPIRIT, BY THE WAY. THEY HAVE A NEW

CEO THERE, PAT SHANAHAN, WHO WAS A LONG-TIME BOEING EXECUTIVE, SERVED IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BRIEFLY, GUYS. WE HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM SPIRIT AT THIS POINT THAT MR. SHANAHAN WILL BE TALKING ANYTIME SOON, BUT HE’S GOT HIS HANDS FULL IN TERMS OF CORRECTING A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE AT SPIRIT. AGAIN AGAIN, WE DON’T KNOW IF SPIRIT IS DIRECTLY THE CAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED WITHAIRLINES, BUT CERTA OF THE OF QUESTIONS FOR INVESTORS TODAY, GUYS, BACK TO YOU. >> YEAH, I MEAN, PHIL, THE VIDEO IS SO GRAPHIC. IT’S HARD NOT TO PUT YOURSELF IN THE

POSITION OF THE PASSENGERS WHO WERE ON THAT PLANE, AND I THINK THAT’S THE INSTANT REACTION EVERYBODY HAD. IMAGINE EVEN DRIVING INTO WORK WITH YOUR WINDOWS DOWN AND THINK ABOUT THESE PASSENGERS WENT THROUGH. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STOCK IMPLICATIONS. SPIRIT AERO, THAT USED TO BE A UNIT OF BOEING, THE IDEA THAT IT WAS SPUN OFF AT SOME POINT. >> YEAH, IT’S BEEN SEPARATE. IT’S BEEN ITS OWN COMPANY SINCE 2005, AND IT HAS DIVERSIFIED ITS PRODUCT PORTFOLIO. WHEN IT WAS SPUN OFF INITIALLY FROM BOEING, ALMOST ALL OF ITS BUSINESS, AS YOU WOULD IMAGINE WAS FROM FUSELAGES

WERE BUILT, THEY WERE BUILT IN KANSAS. WE HAVE TALKED, I THINK IT WAS LIKE EIGHT WEEKS AGO — I’D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK EXACTLY WHEN — THERE WERE A COUPLE OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING HOLES THAT WERE IMPROPERLY DRILLED THAT REQUIRED INSPECTIONS. WE’VE HAD OTHER ISSUES WITH SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS. THIS IS AT THE HEART OF A LOT OF QUESTIONS PEOPLE HAVE NOT JUST FOR SPIRIT, BUT FOR BOEING AS WELL IN TERMS OF QUALITY CONTROL. WHAT’S GOING ON, AND THIS HAS BEEN A FOCUS FOR DAVE CALHOUN, THE CEO. HE HAS TALKED ABOUT IT AT LENGTH. HE WILL

HOLD AN EMPLOYEE TOWN HALL TOMORROW IN RETTON, WASHINGTON, WHERE THE MAX WAS BUILT. AND HE’LL BE THERE ALONG WITH STAN DEAL, STEEF PHANIE POPE, T NEW COO IS EXPECTED TO BE THERE. BOEING IS FRONT AND CENTER RIGHT NOW FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE SAYING WHAT IS GOING ON? EXPLAIN TO US WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE YOUR ARMS WRAPPED AROUND THE QUALITY CONTROL ISSUES THERE. THAT’S GOING TO BE A MAJOR QUESTION FOR CALHOUN AND T