Boeing Angers Safety Officials With Disclosures on 737 Max Incident

Boeing drew fresh criticism from a federal regulator on Thursday over disclosures about the continuing investigation into a harrowing January flight in which one of the company’s 737 Max planes lost a panel, exposing passengers to howling winds at an altitude of about 16,000 feet.

Addressing reporters at a company factory in Renton, Wash., Elizabeth Lund, a Boeing executive, provided new details on Tuesday about how the plane involved in the incident left the plant apparently without four critical bolts that secured the panel, known as a door plug, in place.

Boeing said the information was not for release until Thursday morning, under a common kind of agreement that allowed the attending reporters time to process the detailed briefing.

But on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board rebuked the company for sharing investigative information and speculating about the cause of the incident, saying Boeing had “blatantly violated” the agency’s rules surrounding active investigations. The agency said it would provide details about that violation to the Justice Department, which is investigating the January flight.

“As a party to many N.T.S.B. investigations over the past decades, few entities know the rules better than Boeing,” the agency said in a statement.

The N.T.S.B. also said that it would revoke Boeing’s access to the agency’s investigative information and that the company would not be allowed to ask questions of other participants at an August hearing. The agency said it confirmed Boeing’s violation after obtaining a transcript of the press briefing.