Problems with fuselages: New defects delay delivery of Boeing 737 MAX

Problems with hulls
New defects delay delivery of Boeing 737 MAX

February 5, 2024, 7:51 a.m

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Boeing cannot relax with its 737 Max. The aircraft manufacturer has to rework 50 aircraft of this type that have not yet been delivered. According to the Airbus competitor, some deliveries could be delayed.

Boeing is investigating a new problem with its 737 Max aircraft – but according to the company’s current assessment, only around 50 machines that have not yet been delivered need to be reworked. A supplier informed Boeing that two holes in the fuselage of some aircraft may not have been drilled exactly according to requirements, the aircraft manufacturer said. At the same time, the head of the passenger aircraft division, Stan Deal, emphasized that the “potential problem” did not represent an immediate problem for flight safety and that the 737 aircraft could continue to operate.

There is currently a particular focus on quality controls at Boeing after a fuselage part of an Alaska Airlines 737-9 Max came loose in flight at the beginning of January. The inmates escaped with horror. During inspections, loose fasteners were also found on other aircraft of the variant. Around 170 aircraft of the affected variant have only recently been allowed to take off again after inspections. The US aviation authority FAA announced stricter controls at Boeing after the incident – and some airlines also want to send their own inspectors to the production lines.

Boeing boss Dave Calhoun assured that the company would improve quality supervision. Boeing has the fuselage of the 737 aircraft manufactured by the supplier Spirit Aerosystems, which was once part of the group. Deliveries of 737 aircraft had to be interrupted last year due to faulty boreholes. The problem caused by Spirit was in the pressure bulkhead that closes off the rear of the aircraft cabin.

The problems with the medium-haul jet and other models have brought the US aircraft manufacturer its fifth year of losses in a row in 2023. The bottom line was a deficit of more than 2.2 billion US dollars (a good 2 billion euros), as the competitor of the European Airbus group announced in Arlington at the end of January. A year earlier the minus was more than twice as high. Things didn’t go as badly for Boeing in the fourth quarter as analysts expected. However, CEO Calhoun does not dare to make any forecasts for the current year.