A report claims the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems has discovered dozens of issues in the 737 Max manufacturing process.
The New York Times first reported on the agency’s audit.
The FAA reportedly found “unacceptable” quality control issues during the audit.
“During Boeing’s audit, the FAA conducted 89 product reviews, which evaluated the manufacturing process. Of the 89 audits, the planemaker passed 56 but did not meet specific standards in 33, resulting in 97 alleged noncompliance,” Zero Hedge reports.
FAA Audit Finds Dozens Of Boeing 737 Max Production Issues, NYT Reports
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 12, 2024
Per Zero Hedge:
The presentation comes two months after a door plug ripped off a 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight. Since then, Boeing has come under intense scrutiny over its manufacturing process. The latest findings should concern airlines operating fleets of these planes and passengers.
The audit then focused on Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselage or other parts for the 737 Max. According to the presentation, Spirit only passed six audits while failing seven.
FAA investigators noticed mechanics at Spirit using a hotel key card to measure door seals. Some mechanics also used Dawn soap as a “lubricant” during the door fitting process.
When asked about mechanics using hotel key cards or Dawn soap, Spirit spokesman Joe Buccino said the company was “reviewing all identified nonconformities for corrective action.”
Additionally, the Spirit audit found five problems with the door plug component. It shockingly failed the installation part. The audit also raised concerns about the technicians who carried out the work.
FAA audit of Boeing’s 737 production found mechanics using hotel card and dish soap as makeshift tools: report pic.twitter.com/3BNG1WF0OR
— New York Post (@nypost) March 12, 2024
WATCH:
Boeing’s 737 MAX production process has dozens of issues with quality control. According to the New York Times, an audit from the FAA revealed that the aerospace giant failed 33 out of 89 product tests pic.twitter.com/7fwuC04pvR
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 12, 2024
From the New York Post:
Some of the most shocking details from the presentation happened at Spirit AeroSytems’ fuselage manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kansas.
FAA auditors spotted mechanics from the company using a hotel key card to check the seal on a door in one instance and witnessed other Spirit mechanics applying Dawn liquid soap to a door seal “as a lubricant in the fit-up process,” the Times reported.
In the latter incident, the mechanics used wet cheesecloth to wipe away the dish soap and clean the door seal.
The document detailing the audit findings obtained by the outlet said the instructions provided to mechanics were “vague and unclear on what specifications/actions are to be followed or recorded by the mechanic.”
A spokesperson for Spirit AeroSystems — which Boeing is in talks to reacquire — told the Times that the company is “reviewing all identified nonconformities for corrective action.”
Boeing did not immediately comment on the audit’s findings — which the FAA has refused to make public because of its ongoing investigation into the door plug incident on the Alaska Airlines flight and Boeing’s response to it.
