Boeing said Monday it would make changes to quality control processes after one of its 737 Max 9 planes lost a portion of its body during a near-catastrophic Alaska Airlines flight this month.
The planemaker said it would add additional inspections at its own factory and at that of a major supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, which installs the plug at unused exit doors, one of which exploded mid-flight on the Max 9. Both companies They will also open their factories to greater scrutiny by airlines that fly the 737, inviting them to conduct more inspections of the manufacturing process, starting with those that fly the Max 9. And Boeing will bring in an outside party to review their quality. control program and suggest improvements.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on January 5 was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, after a door plug exploded, with no serious injuries to anyone on board. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Max 9 planes and said it would expand its scrutiny of Boeing. Inspections of the planes led Boeing to conclude that its manufacturing practices needed improvement.
“The AS1282 accident and recent customer findings make it clear that we are not where we need to be,” Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing's commercial aircraft unit, said in a memo to employees on Monday. “To that end, we are taking immediate steps to strengthen quality assurance and controls in our factories.”
Inspections so far have included examining and measuring the door stopper to ensure it is installed to specifications. United Airlines, the largest operator of Max 9 aircraft, said it had found some loose bolts during early inspections last week, and Alaska Airlines, the second largest Max 9 operator, also said it had found loose hardware in the plug area. of the door. .
The crash drew attention to Boeing's quality control practices about five years after a pair of 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. The plane was banned globally for 20 months as lawmakers, regulators and journalists around the world scrutinized it and Boeing's practices. Flights aboard the Max began to resume in late 2020 after Boeing made changes to the systems and components involved in the crashes.
The quality improvements Boeing announced Monday include adding to the thousands of existing inspections at both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the 737 Max fuselages in Wichita, Kansas, and ships them to Washington state, where Boeing assembles the planes. Since 2019, Boeing has increased the number of quality inspectors by 20 percent, Deal said.
Boeing also said it had sent a team to inspect the installation of the door plugs at Spirit AeroSystems, approving them before each airframe is shipped to Boeing. Boeing is also inspecting 50 other points in the Spirit construction process.
In his message, Deal said Boeing was cooperating fully with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into the crash. He also reiterated the importance of adhering to the company's quality control program standard.
“Anything less is unacceptable,” he said. “It is through this standard that we must operate to give our customers and their passengers complete confidence in Boeing aircraft. May each of us take personal responsibility for it and recommit ourselves to this important work.”
