Boeing said a new problem with the fuselages of some unfinished 737 planes would force the company to rework about 50 plans, which could delay their delivery and raise new quality control concerns at the maker and its suppliers.
Stan Deal, general manager of Boeing’s commercial aircraft division, said in a memo to employees On Sunday, a supplier identified last week that “two holes may not have been drilled exactly to our requirements”. He did not name the supplier.
The problem “is not an immediate flight safety issue and all 737s can continue to operate safely,” Deal said. He added that all 737s currently in use could continue to fly.
The new problems are another setback for Boeing, which has been under pressure from regulators, investors and its airline customers since January 5, when a panel on a 737 Max 9 plane operated by Alaska Airlines exploded in mid-flight. , forcing an emergency landing. and the grounding of the Max 9s in the United States.
Boeing’s fuselage supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, confirmed to Reuters that one of its employees had discovered two poorly drilled holes on certain fuselages and alerted a manager. Spirit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Quality problems at Boeing and its suppliers became more urgent after news reports, including a New York Times article, revealed that Boeing employees opened and reinstalled the panel that caused the plane to explode. Alaska Airlines. Last week, the company declined to provide full-year financial guidance as expected, an indication that the company is trying to assure its customers that quality control would take precedence over financial performance. .
Mr. Deal said Boeing would spend several “factory days” this week at the company’s plant outside Seattle to repair poorly drilled holes and complete other outstanding work on undelivered 737s. These days allow teams to pause their normal work and take care of specific tasks without stopping production.
“That’s what we mean when we say we’re going to take it slow to get it right,” Mr. Deal said.
