Boeing Reworking 50 New Planes After Misdrilled Holes Found in Fuselages

Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9, which made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on Jan. 5 is parked on the tarmac in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 23, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)

Boeing will rework about 50 undelivered aircraft after engineering issues came to light with the new planes, the company said on Feb. 4 amid heightened scrutiny following an accident last month.

In a message to employees, the Arlington, Virginia-based planemaker stated that CEO Stan Deal would spend “several days” at its Renton, Washington, factory inspecting some undelivered planes for potential quality issues. A supplier recently notified Boeing of engineering issues in the fuselages of certain 737 MAX aircraft.

An employee at the supplier had alerted his manager that two holes in the planes might not have been drilled exactly according to Boeing’s requirements.

“While this potential condition is not an immediate flight safety issue and all 737s can continue operating safely, we currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered airplanes,” the message stated.

“While this issue could delay some near-term 737 deliveries, this is the only course of action given our commitment to deliver perfect airplanes every time. The days we are setting aside in the 737 program will allow time for our teams to complete the inspections and, if needed, perform the necessary rework.”

A spokesperson for Spirit AeroSystems, the sole 737 fuselage supplier for Boeing, confirmed to Reuters that the issue was discovered by a member of their team.

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“We are in close communication with Boeing on this matter,” he said.

Boeing’s message to employees comes amid intense scrutiny faced by the company in recent weeks, following an incident in January in which a Boeing 737 Max 9 was forced to make an emergency landing.

A door plug on the aircraft’s fuselage tore off while the plane was flying at 16,000 feet, causing rapid cabin depressurization. As a result, some passengers were injured.

The fuselage was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems, with the incident resulting in the grounding of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The agency also informed Boeing that it was not planning to grant “any production expansion of the MAX” aircraft in a bid to improve quality control at the company. Boeing’s 737 Max is available in four variants: 7, 8, 9, and 10.

On Jan. 17, the FAA said it was investigating “Boeing’s manufacturing practices and production lines, including those involving subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems.” In the Feb. 4 message, Boeing told employees they have to maintain rigorous quality standards and hold suppliers to the same standard.

“We recently instructed a major supplier to hold shipments until all jobs have been completed to specification,“ the message read. ”While this delay in shipment will affect our production schedule, it will improve overall quality and stability.”

Effects on Airlines

In late January, the FAA allowed the grounded Boeing planes to come back into service provided they undergo “a thorough inspection and maintenance process.”

Both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers that operate the 737 Max 9, have begun to bring the aircraft back into service. Alaska Airlines said that it took 12 hours to inspect each plane in compliance with FAA requirements.

Alaska Airlines has vowed to hold Boeing accountable for the issues they are facing. The company estimated that the cost of the grounding was $150 million in expenses, including ticket reimbursements, overtime pay for staff, and the cost of placing passengers on other flights.

During a conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett said that Alaska expects to be made “whole (by Boeing) for the profit impact of the grounding,” according to The Seattle Times.

“It’s not acceptable what happened,“ CEO Ben Minicucci said. ”We’re gonna hold them accountable. And we’re going to raise the bar on quality on Boeing ... We’re gonna hold Boeing’s feet to the fire to make sure that we get good airplanes out of that factory.”

In an interview with CNBC, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that the airline is looking for alternatives to Boeing.

“I think the Max 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for us. We’re going to at least build a plan that doesn’t have the Max 10 in it.”

Southwest Airlines has reduced its expected Boeing aircraft deliveries for this year, citing issues with the certification of the 737 Max 7 model.

Airline companies are starting to take matters into their own hands by overseeing Boeing’s quality standards. Alaska has already said it was expanding its team with “additional experienced professionals to validate work and quality on the Boeing 737 production line.”

The company’s quality and audit team is assessing Boeing’s production quality and control systems, including production vendor oversight, it said on Jan. 13.

Sir Tim Clark, the head of the Emirates airline, recently told The Financial Times that he has seen a “progressive decline” in Boeing standards. He said that Emirates would be sending its own engineers to observe the production process at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems for the first time.

“The fact that we’re having to do that is testament to what has happened,“ he said. ”This would not have been sanctioned in the old days. You know, we trusted these people implicitly to get it done.”