The Boeing 737 MAX and the 737 NextGeneration (NG) military derivative, the P-8 Poseidon, have been affected by another manufacturing quality issue.
Spirit AeroSystems, a Tier 1 supplier for Boeing, confirmed that its 737 fuselages, which it ships to the planemaker from Wichita, Kansas, the United States (US), have been affected by a problem involving 鈥渆longated fastener holes on the aft pressure bulkhead鈥.
鈥淏ecause Spirit uses multiple suppliers for the aft pressure bulkhead, only some units are affected,鈥 the supplier said, adding that it would continue delivering fuselages to Boeing.
In response to the new manufacturing issue, Spirit AeroSystems said that it 鈥渉as implemented changes to its manufacturing process to address this issue鈥.
鈥淲e are working closely with our customer to address any impacted units within the production system and address any needed rework,鈥 the manufacturer continued.
Currently, Spirit AeroSystems does not anticipate any material impact on its unit delivery range due to the problem with the fastener holes.
Meanwhile, Boeing determined there 鈥渋s no immediate safety of flight concern associated with this issue for the 737 fleet and that the in-service fleet may continue to operate鈥.
The manufacturing problem was first by The Air Current. The publication revealed that some fuselages have 鈥渉undreds of misaligned and duplicated holes鈥.聽
Quality issues affecting 737 MAX
This is the second manufacturing problem to affect the Boeing 737 MAX and the P-8 Poseidon.
In April 2023, Spirit AeroSystems discovered that a 鈥渘on-standard manufacturing process鈥 was used when joining the aft fuselage and the vertical tail fittings of certain 737 MAX and P-8 Poseidon fuselages. The 737 MAX 9 was not affected.
Shortly after, during Boeing精东影业 Annual Shareholders Meeting, the company精东影业 president and chief executive officer (CEO) David Calhoun said that the problem would remove around 9,000 seats from customers鈥 summer schedules.
During the company精东影业 Q2鈥2023 results presentation, Brian West, chief financial officer (CFO) and executive vice president of Finance at Boeing, said that the company resumed deliveries of reworked 737s, while also beginning to produce new aircraft of the type that meet the manufacturer精东影业 specifications.
鈥淚n light of this progress, we are now transitioning production to 38 per month and still plan to increase to 50 per month in the 2025-2026 timeframe,鈥 West continued, adding that the priority will be the stability of the supply chain, which is why 鈥渋t will take some time to consistently deliver at 38 per month off the line鈥.
Still, the CFO reiterated that in 2023, Boeing is on pace to deliver between 400 and 450 aircraft.
