The Federal Aviation Administration's six-week audit of the clowns running Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems has revealed "multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements."
The non-compliance issues were found in the Boeing 737 Max program's manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control, the FAA said, adding these details have been released to the public as an investigation is ongoing following the near-catastrophic accident when a door plug ripped off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 plane earlier this year.
The audit is one of the immediate oversight actions the FAA took after a left mid-cabin door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on January 5 while in flight. At a meeting at FAA Headquarters in Washington, DC, last week, Administrator Mike Whitaker informed Boeing's CEO and other senior leaders that the company must address the audit's findings as part of its comprehensive corrective action plan to fix systemic quality-control issues. The plan must also address the findings from the expert review panel report that examined Boeing's safety culture. The FAA has given Boeing 90 days to outline its action plan. -FAA
While Boeing is held accountable for quality control issues that led to the 737 Max 9 plug door mishap, the FAA has halted production expansion of the Max jet.
There is word that Boeing might hire a third party to conduct independent reviews of quality systems at its Renton, Washington plant and Spirit AeroSystems facilities in Wichita, Kansas.
Meanwhile, European aerospace giant Airbus SE has been pulling ahead of Boeing regarding aircraft deliveries, soaking up an increasingly more significant market share of narrow-body planes.
Wall Street thinks so...
With Boeing remaining under FAA scrutiny, it was also announced Monday that three passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight in January have filed a billionaire dollar lawsuit against the planemaker.
