National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy warned Wednesday that a partial government shutdown would force the board to pause its investigation into an Alaska Airlines accident in which a Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug blew out mid-flight.
Homendy issued the warning in a letter to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., two days before Friday’s cutoff for some federal spending authority, including the NTSB funding that is part of the Transportation-HUD spending bill.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. said Wednesday he hopes to pass an extension of current-year funding on Thursday. The hope is that the measure would then have time to be acted upon on the House.
