Boeing revealed a defect in parts that have been used in Boeing 737 MAXs since 2019 – potentially affecting most of the aircraft that have been built since the model was grounded after two crashes.
Spirit [AeroSystems] which builds the entire MAX fuselage in Wichita, Kansas, notified Boeing on Wednesday that “a non-standard manufacturing process” was used during the installation of two fittings at the vertical tail of certain 737 MAX 7, MAX 8 and MAX 8-200 models, as well as on the 737-based P-8 military plane for the U.S. Navy.
The fittings involved are two of eight points where the vertical fin is attached to the fuselage. That means the parts don’t conform to Federal Aviation Administration regulatory requirements.
This does not affect MAX 9 aircraft. And while deemed “not an immediate safety of flight issue” – it means a delay of delivery of new MAX aircraft – it’s shocking because,
- The MAX was supposed to have been the most scrutinized aircraft in history
- Confidence in its safety is predicated on everything having been gone through more carefully and thoroughly after its 21 month grounding following the Lion Air and Ethiopian crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The FAA agrees this is not an immediate safety issue, but how on earth could they have missed this?
And if Boeing can’t deliver new aircraft this way, how can they “hedge[..] on whether some MAXs already in service will have to be reworked, too.” There are approximately 750 737 MAX aircraft that have been delivered since the plane’s ungrounding in December 2020, that would potentially be affected. Boeing had 250 planes on hand at end of 2022, and planes to ramp up production to 38 per month.
We probably need to wait for another few hundred people to be killed before Boeing starts to prioritise lives over profit…
Shocking!
Boeing is on the upswing since they finally got rid of the disastrous Douglas leadership. And while you can’t solve every problem all at once, it is surprising that this got by the QA team.
Also, this issue was probably found precisely because Boeing is under such close scrutiny.
HQ moving from Everett to Chicago was a disaster. Now they’re moving to DC so they can more easily bribe politicians next time they kill hundreds of innocent folks.
This company is the definition of how sad of a state America is in 2023. We’re an embarrassment to the world, losing our status as a power every day
“If it’s Boeing, I ain’t going”
Boeing was once considered the standard of American technology and management. Boeing CEOs have been on the cover of Time Magazine several times. It seems like Boeing is going the way of GM. They are getting an attitude of, we’re Boeing and we don’t have to be careful.
This is legacy Stonecipher rot. Between the 1950s and the 1980s Boeing designed and delivered six excellent unique workhorse commercial planforms. Post-1997 they’ve produced just one, plus snakebit variants on the 737 and 777 — fatally, egregiously flawed in the case of the 737MAX.
In one short generation Boeing has tumbled from the best America had to offer to the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. IKEA furniture is put together better.
I’d say that Boeing outsourcing the production steps easily leads to this kind of problem. I understand that this is a boring problem but why isn’t Spirit Aero more scrutinized for this issue???
I agree with Matt here. Spirit Aero needs to be thoroughly scrutinized to understand how this happened and how to prevent it.
No tears from me….the MAX is the most passenger and crew unfriendly airplane out there.
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” —Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt didn’t use design shortcuts and deception to kill 346 innocents.
The MAX is the “New Coke” of aircraft.
Boeing has missed the mark with this aircraft. 🙁
As per Raif, Boeing has really missed the mark with this plane. However, they are screwed since they are at present incapable of successfully designing a totally new replacement plane. Boeing’s best play is to “try” to upgrade their existing planes until they decide to just exit the commercial aviation market and focus on cost plus work for the military. The military work is controlled by politicians, and experience has shown they are easily bribed to get work for Boeing, and others. Hence the move to DC. The last two attempted upgrades (737MAX and 777X) have both been botched–what are the odds on the 777X ever being delivered to an airline customer?
Its downfall started when it turned from an engineering company to one run by MBAs.
Airbus should be the only builder of airliners period.
@jedipenguin. And how did Airbus get the name “Scarebus”? Based on personal experience flying for Third World Airlines, I’m not convinced that the B737 MAX crashes at Lion Air and Ethiopian were entirely Boeings fault. While I can no longer say “if it’s not Boeing, I’m not going” I still prefer the Boeing products to Airbus. But I am partial having logged over 16,000 hours with only two engine issues and arriving safely at all the destinations with all the parts we departed with.
Just exactly WHAT is wrong with these 2 fittings ??
This story is all about these 2 fittings, but it doesn’t say what is the problem.
Are they okay, but not the right person signed off on the paperwork ??
WHAT exactly is the problem ??
And WHY doesn’t this story tell us ??
On a Boeing, I’m not going!
* 787s have blown up on fire and are full of problems (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1000936120300546); A350s are flying with high reliability
* 737s MAX already killed 346 people and are full of problems, A320neos zero people killed and no problems (99.6% dispatch reliability)
Which aircraft are you going to trust with your life?
@ Jake. It doesn’t matter what airplane you are on if the pilot’s are undertrained and weak in stick and rudder skills when “fit hits the shan”. A pilot needs to be able to fly the airplane while dealing with the non normal ops or emergency. The B737 MAX has been and will continue to be a very safe aircraft when properly TRAINED AND EXPERIENCED pilots, in both seats, are at the controls. Please read between the lines.
@One Trippe
reading between the lines, racist much?