Boeing under scrutiny as report points to missing door panel bolts

WASHINGTON -- Bolts were missing from a door panel that blew out of a Boeing 737 Max jetliner during a flight last month, according to preliminary findings published Tuesday by a U.S. regulator as the head of the country's air safety agency promised closer aircraft inspections.

Four bolts that prevent upward movement of the mid-exit door (MED) door plug "were missing before the MED plug moved upward off the stop pads" in the incident on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 on Jan. 5, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its report.