Boeing manufacturing and design issues explained

A number of significant oversights have occurred in the manufacturing of aircraft produced by Boeing. Such oversights have been reported in the news as far back as 1987. Scrutiny over Boeing's process of addressing manufacturing issues began increasing in the aftermath of two fatal crashes involving the Boeing 737 MAX—Lion Air Flight 610 in late 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in early 2019.[1]

In August 2023, Boeing discovered improperly installed aft pressure bulkheads in certain Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Concerns over Boeing manufacturing issues mounted in January 2024, when an emergency exit door ejected from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, causing uncontrolled decompression. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board initiated inquiries in response to the incident; the former's investigation discovered further instances of manufacturing lapses.

Manufacturing issues

Aft pressure bulkheads

In August 2023, Boeing discovered improperly drilled holes in aft pressure bulkheads in certain 737 MAX aircraft, forcing manufacturing delays.[2]

Rudder control systems

In December 2023, Boeing urged airlines to inspect 737 MAX aircraft for loose bolts in their rudder control systems after an unnamed international airline discovered a bolt with a missing nut. Boeing discovered an additional improperly-tightened nut in an undelivered 737 MAX.[3]

Door panels

See main article: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. On January 5, 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experienced uncontrolled decompression after door plugs securing the emergency exit door panel ejected on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft used on the flight; the configuration on the 737 MAX 9 included fewer seats than Boeing designs for, necessitating a door plug to obstruct an unneeded exit on row 26 adjacent to two unoccupied seats.[4] The fuselage and door plugs were initially manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems and the 737 MAX 9 involved in the incident was certified in November.[5]

Fuselage gaps

In April 2024, Boeing engineer and whistleblower Sam Salehpour alleged that Boeing took shortcuts in the manufacturing of its 777 and 787. When joining the different parts of the fuselage together, Salehpour alleged that the tiny gaps were not filled.[6] He claims there are thousands of affected aircraft that can catastrophically "break up" in mid air.[7] Boeing denied these allegations.[8]

Responses

Following Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a mass grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes in order to conduct inspections. Alaska Airlines canceled approximately one hundred flights on January 6, 2024, and United Airlines suspended uninspected 737 MAX 9s, leading to sixty cancellations.[5] By January 7, Alaska Airlines had canceled 170 flights, affecting 25,000 customers.[4]

Investigations

National Transportation Safety Board

The National Transportation Safety Board initiated an inquiry into Boeing following Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, discovering that bolts intended to secure a fuselage panel were not installed prior to the flight.[9]

Federal Aviation Administration

In March 2024, The New York Times reported that Boeing failed nearly three dozen audits during an examination.[10]

U.S. Department of Justice

In March 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States Department of Justice had started a criminal investigation into Boeing, interviewing the crew on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.[11]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Laris . Michael . July 1, 2019 . Boeing had long failed to fix safety problems . The Washington Post . A1 . ProQuest . https://archive.today/20201211161854/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/long-before-the-max-disasters-boeing-had-a-history-of-failing-to-fix-safety-problems/2019/06/26/b4f5f720-86ee-11e9-a870-b9c411dc4312_story.html . December 11, 2020. .
  2. Web site: Boeing finds new 737 MAX defect, threatening delivery target . August 23, 2023 . Johnsson . Julie . . March 12, 2024 . February 8, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240208230411/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-23/boeing-finds-new-737-max-defect-threatening-delivery-targets . live .
  3. Web site: Boeing Urges Airlines to Inspect 737 Max Planes for Possible Loose Bolts . December 28, 2023 . Levenson . Michael . . March 11, 2024 . March 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240312164045/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/business/boeing-737-max-faa-inspections.html . live .
  4. Web site: What to Know About Boeing's 737 Max 9 and the Alaska Airlines Grounding . January 5, 2024 . Schuetze . Christopher . Bradsher . Keith . Eddy . Melissa . . March 12, 2024 . March 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240312164046/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/business/alaska-airlines-boeing-737-max-9.html . live .
  5. Web site: F.A.A. Orders Airlines to Ground Some Boeing 737 Max 9 Jets After Midair 'Incident' . January 5, 2024 . Yoon . John . Kim . Victoria . Mayorquin . Orlando . Chokshi . Niraj . Walker . Mark . . March 12, 2024 . January 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240106052006/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/business/alaska-airlines-flight-portland-landing.html . live .
  6. Web site: Cohen . Gregory Wallace, Gabe . 2024-04-09 . A whistleblower claims that Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is flawed. The FAA is investigating CNN Business . https://web.archive.org/web/20240417020244/https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/09/business/boeing-787-whistleblower/index.html . 2024-04-17 . 2024-04-18 . CNN . en.
  7. Web site: 2024-04-10 . Boeing whistleblower says the Dreamliner 787 could 'break apart' because of safety flaws, report says . 2024-04-18 . NBC News . en.
  8. Web site: Kim . Whizy . 2024-04-17 . Boeing's problems were as bad as you thought . https://web.archive.org/web/20240418005105/https://www.vox.com/money/2024/4/17/24133324/boeing-senate-hearings-whistleblower-sam-salehpour-congress . 2024-04-18 . 2024-04-18 . Vox . en.
  9. Web site: Panel on Boeing Plane May Not Have Been Properly Attached, Agency Says . January 8, 2024 . Chokshi . Niraj . Walker . Mark . . March 12, 2024 . January 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240124042139/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/08/business/boeing-max-9-alaska-airlines.html . live .
  10. Web site: F.A.A. Audit of Boeing's 737 Max Production Found Dozens of Issues . March 11, 2024 . Walker . Mark . . March 12, 2024 . March 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240312024308/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/us/politics/faa-audit-boeing-737-max.html . live .
  11. Web site: Justice Department Opens Probe, Interviews Crew in Alaska Airlines Blowout . March 9, 2024 . Tangel . Andrew . Michaels . Dave . Sider . Alison . . March 12, 2024 . March 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240312014030/https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/justice-department-opens-probe-interviews-crew-in-alaska-airlines-blowout-d4cdfa6d . live .

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