After grilling an official from the Takata Corporation earlier this month about exploding airbags it manufactured, Sen. Bill Nelson is asking the Japanese company to provide a trove of documents.
The list of requested documents numbers 24 separate categories, and includes an email with the subject line:“Defectos y defectos y defectos!!!!”
The document, translated into English, reads “A part that is not welded = one life less, which shows we are not fulfilling the mission,” according to Nelson’s staff.
In a letter to Shigehisa Takada, Takata chairman and CEO, Nelson and West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller also request any defect analyses in the company’s possession, reports from customers alleging defects and “all documents that refer to mistakes, errors or omissions made in the production of any Takata inflator.”
Five people have been killed after the airbags exploded sending shrapnel into the face of drivers. At least 17 Floridians have been injured or killed. Humidity seems to play a role in the airbag failure though some airbags have exploded outside of humid zones. Federal officials want to expand a now regional recall nationwide.
In the letter, the Democratic senators noted their difficulty getting complete answers from Hiroshi Shimizu, senior vice president of Global Quality Assurance for the company, when he testified Nov. 20 before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
“As a result, we still have many significant questions about the circumstances surrounding Takata’s manufacturing of defective airbags and their widespread distribution and installation in vehicles sold and driven in the United States,” the letter reads.