The 737 Max was actually on the up. But now there is a major setback, because a problem at the fuselage supplier Spirit Aerosystems is causing difficulties for Boeing. The defect could even have existed for several years.
Things were actually looking good for the 737 Max. Boeing was recently pleased that eleven Chinese airlines were also using the model again. Stan Deal, Boeing’s chief executive officer for commercial aircraft, said it will increase the monthly production rate of the 737 Max “very soon.” And in terms of deliveries, the American aircraft manufacturer overtook Airbus again for a long time thanks to the Max in the first quarter of 2023.
But now there is a major setback. Because on Thursday (April 13), the manufacturer announced that there were problems caused by a newly discovered defect at Max’s supplier Spirit Aerosystems, which is building the Max’s fuselage on behalf of Boeing.
Boeing: “The in-service fleet can continue to operate safely”
Spirit had informed Boeing the day before that two of the eight connection points at which the vertical tail is attached to the fuselage are involved. “A non-standard manufacturing process” was used during installation. Certain undelivered or still in production 737 Max 7, Max 8 and Max 8-200 jets and jets of the 737 military version P-8 are affected.
“This is not an immediate flight safety issue and the operating fleet can continue to operate safely,” Boeing said in a statement. “However, the issue will likely affect a significant number of undelivered 737 Max aircraft, both in production and in storage.” The work required is expected to result in fewer deliveries in the short term.
Boeing’s new problem with the 737 Max could be four years old
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it “confirmed the company’s assessment that there is no immediate safety issue based on the facts and data provided by Boeing.” Boeing and Spirit have begun inspections and will need to do rework on affected jets.
However, Boeing is still working to understand the full extent of the difficulties. Because Spirit shared that the problem may have been four years old. That would mean it could also affect most fliers built since max-grounding after two fatal accidents. Since the jet was allowed to take off again, there have been more than 750 deliveries, including the unaffected Max 9.
“How could you have overlooked that for four years?”
According to the Seattle Times newspaper, until further analyzes are available, Boeing wanted to comment on whether some 737 Max already in operation also need to be improved. It will be determined “which measures, if any, are required for the fleet in operation,” said the aircraft manufacturer.
Ron Epstein, a financial analyst specializing in aviation at Bank of America, told the paper that he was puzzled by the mistake, saying: “How could they have missed it for four years when they should have been checking everything with a fine-toothed comb?”
This article was written by Timo Nowack