The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has to deal with further production errors with its most popular model 737 Max.
Boeing’s largest supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, is said to have improperly drilled holes in a component that is important for maintaining air pressure in the cabin. “During factory inspections, we found mounting holes in the aft pressure bulkhead of certain 737 aircraft that did not meet our specifications,” Boeing said via email on Wednesday evening. Now Boeing’s delivery plans for the medium-haul jet could again be in jeopardy. Boeing shares were initially down two percent in pre-market US trading on Thursday.
From the point of view of the US aviation authority FAA, the new problem with the machines does not pose a safety risk. The rear pressure bulkhead is located at the end of the aircraft fuselage and closes off the cabin space at the rear. Passengers cannot see that the galley and toilets are usually located in front of them.
According to a report by aviation specialist portal The Air Current, investigations have revealed hundreds of misaligned and double holes in the pressure bulkheads on some planes. Boeing does not manufacture the majority of the 737 Max fuselage itself. Spirit Aerosystems is responsible for 70 percent of the fuselage parts. As early as April, Boeing had to temporarily suspend deliveries of the 737 series due to manufacturing defects at Spirit.
In the meantime, the delivery of the model series had picked up speed again. But now Boeing has to investigate how many machines are affected by the defective drilling and how difficult it will be to fix the defects. In addition, the manufacturer is examining whether it can still achieve its previous goal of handing over 400 to 450 machines from the 737 family to its customers this year.
The 737 Max jets are the new edition of the 737 medium-haul jets that have been built since the 1960s. With the modernization, Boeing responded to the success of the A320neo jets from the European manufacturer Airbus.
However, the development plunged the US group into its deepest crisis to date. In 2018 and 2019, two 737 Max jets crashed, killing a total of 346 people. After that, the machines of the type were not allowed to take off worldwide for more than a year and a half before Boeing gradually achieved approval again with improvements in most parts of the world.
In NYSE trading, Boeing shares fell 3.31 percent to $ 221.44 at times.
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ARLINGTON/WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX)
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