Mis-drilled Holes on Fuselages Found on Undelivered Boeing 737 Max Planes

Boeing have discovered a new problem during the production of 737 Max jets that will force them to rework about 50 planes that have not yet been delivered. 

 

This was disclosed in a memo sent to Boeing (BA) employees Sunday by Stan Deal, the head of the company’s commercial aircraft unit. An employee at Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which make the fuselages of the 737 Max jets, notified the plane maker that two holes may not have been drilled exactly to Boeing’s requirements, according to Deal’s memo. 

 

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

 

Spirit AeroSystems confirmed in a statement that they mis-drilled the holes. 

 

The mis-drilled holes are on the planes’ window frames, Jodi Baker, a FAA aviation safety official told reporters on Monday. “We’ll ensure that those airplanes meet all safety standards before we can approve them for delivery”, she promised. 

 

Boeing have halted delivery on a number of occasions over the last few years involving both the Max and the 787 Dreamliner because the planes had not been built according to specifications. 

 

The suspensions caused problems for airline customers that had been counting on the planes and also led to ongoing losses at Boeing. The company reported last week that it lost $2.2 billion in 2023, bringing losses over the last five years to $26.7 billion. 

 

And one of Boeing's largest customers, Dubai-based Emirates are reportedly planning to send their own engineers to oversee the US plane maker’s production lines. 

 

Their president, Tim Clark told the Financial Times on Sunday that he had seen a “progressive decline” in Boeing’s standards, which he put down to long-running management and governance missteps, including prioritizing financial performance over engineering excellence. 

 

Now, you know how bad the situation is in Boeing.