Boeing to Make Design Changes to Prevent Future 737 MAX 9 Door Panel Blowout
Editor
7 August 2024 16:31 WIB
FUSELAGE DEFECTS
Jonathan Arnold, Aviation Safety Inspector at the FAA, said a systemic issue he witnessed at Boeing’s factory was employees not following the instructions.
"That seems to be systemic where they deviate from their instructions. And typically, tool control is what I see most," Arnold said.
Lund said before the Jan. 5 accident every 737 fuselage delivered to Boeing by Spirit AeroSystems had defects. "What we don't want is the really big defects that are impactful to the production system," Lund said. "We were starting to see more and more of those kinds of issues, I will tell you, right around the time of the accident."
Boeing executive Carole Murray described various problems with fuselages coming from Spirit AeroSystems in the run-up to the accident. "We had defects. Sealant was one of our biggest defects that we had write-ups on," she said. "We had multiple escapements around the window frame, skin defects."
Michelle Delgado, a structures mechanic who worked as a contractor at Boeing and did the rework on the Alaska MAX 9 aircraft, told NTSB the workload is heavy and requires working long hours.
"In order for me to not have to deal with a worse situation tomorrow, I'd rather work a 12 to 13-hour shift to get it all done, for my sake, so I don't have to deal with people the next day," she told NTSB.
Also in June, the NTSB said Boeing violated investigation rules when Lund provided non-public information to media and speculated about possible causes.
Last month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of at least $243.6 million to resolve a Justice Department investigation into two 737 MAX fatal crashes.
REUTERS
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