A new Boeing 737 MAX production defect has just been discovered. The most concerning part? It has been going on for up to four years, and apparently no one noticed…
Boeing’s new 737 MAX production issue
Spirit AeroSystems is the company that produces the fuselage of the Boeing 737 MAX, at its facility in Wichita, Kansas.
On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the company notified Boeing that “a non-standard manufacturing process” has been used for the installation of two fittings at the vertical tail of the aircraft. Specifically, two of the eight points where the vertical fin is attached to the fuselage don’t conform to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulatory requirements.
As it’s described by Spirit AeroSystems, the company has “identified a quality issue on the aft fuselage section of certain models of the 737 fuselage that Spirit builds,” and the company is “working to develop an inspection and repair for the affected fuselages.”
This applies to the 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 8, but doesn’t apply to the 737 MAX 9.
The most shocking part is that this production issue allegedly dates back up to four years, meaning the wrong process has potentially been used since 2019. As many will remember, the 737 MAX was grounded in 2019, and the FAA was supposed to closely scrutinize every aspect of the aircraft prior to once again declaring the plane fit to fly. How exactly has this defect been going on for four years, without being noticed?
The FAA has issued the following statement regarding this situation:
“Based on the facts and data Boeing presented, the FAA validated the company’s assessment that there is no immediate safety issue. The FAA is in close communication with Boeing and will continue to evaluate all new affected airplanes prior to delivery.”
So, ummm, the FAA is claiming there’s no safety risk based on the data presented by Boeing? It seems taking Boeing at its word hasn’t exactly been a best practice, historically.
What this means for Boeing 737 MAX deliveries
Boeing 737 MAX deliveries have been increasing significantly in recent months, so what does this latest update mean? It’s expected that deliveries of the 737 MAX will be substantially slowed down. This discovery will require undelivered aircraft, including those currently on the assembly line and those waiting to be delivered, to be inspected and potentially reworked.
It remains to be seen what happens to existing aircraft. All parties claim that this doesn’t pose any immediate safety risks. It’s likely that at a minimum, all planes delivered with this defect will need to be inspected, and they might also need to have some changes made. Boeing states it will provide additional information in the days and weeks ahead, as it better understands the delivery impacts.
Bottom line
The Boeing 737 MAX has a new issue, as the company that produces the fuselage has allegedly been using “a non-standard manufacturing process” for years. One has to wonder how this flew under the radar for so long, especially as the aircraft faced so much scrutiny from regulators.
This development isn’t good news for airlines that were hoping to take delivery of Boeing 737 MAXs soon, as that timeline is potentially being pushed back quite a bit.
What do you make of this latest Boeing 737 MAX issue?
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