FAA audit of Boeing’s 737 production found mechanics using hotel card and dish soap as makeshift tools: report By Allie Griffin
The Federal Aviation Administration found dozens of issues throughout Boeing’s 737 Max jet production process, including mechanics at one of its key suppliers using a hotel key card and dish soap as makeshift tools to test compliance, according to a report.
The FAA discovered “unacceptable” quality control issues during an audit into Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems that was launched after a door plug flew off a 737 Max 9 mid-air at 16,000 feet on Jan. 5.
The agency did not release its findings to the public, but a presentation detailing the results reviewed by the New York Times reveals a troubling and inconsistent manufacturing process.
Boeing failed 33 out of 89 product audits — a review of specific aspects in the production line — with a total of 97 counts of alleged noncompliance, the auditors found, according to the newspaper.
Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the body of the 737 Max jets, failed seven out of 13 product audits conducted by the FAA, the publication reported. One of its failures dealt with the installation of the plane’s door plug.
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