Boeing will have to suspend deliveries of certain 737 Max narrowbodies after discovering a problem involving two fittings in the aircraft’s aft fuselage sections, the company confirmed Friday. Spirit AeroSystems—the supplier of the Max’s aft fuselage—notified Boeing of a “nonstandard manufacturing process” used during the installation of the fittings, creating the potential of noncompliance with required specifications. Boeing said the problem does not compromise safety-of-flight and that airplanes already in service can continue to fly.
While not specifying the batch of airplanes involved, Boeing said the problem will likely affect “a significant number” of undelivered Max jets and P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, both in production and in storage.
“We have notified the FAA of the issue and are working to conduct inspections and replace the nonconforming fittings where necessary,” said Boeing in a statement. “We expect lower near-term 737 Max deliveries while this required work is completed. We regret the impact that this issue will have on affected customers and are in contact with them concerning their delivery schedule. We will provide additional information in the days and weeks ahead as we better understand the delivery impacts.”
In a separate statement, the FAA confirmed that the problem involved aft fuselage sections, but deferred to Boeing to provide more detail.
“Based on the facts and data Boeing presented, the FAA validated the company’s assessment that there is no immediate safety issue,” the agency added. “The FAA is in close communication with Boeing and will continue to evaluate all new affected airplanes prior to delivery."
This latest issue involving the Max comes as Boeing tries to accelerate production of the narrowbodies amid continuing supply-chain disruptions and after an earlier pause caused by the grounding and subsequent modification of the model’s flight control system resulting from two fatal crashes in October 2018 and March 2019. Boeing just recently reported that it delivered 113 aircraft from the 737 family in the first quarter of this year, raising hopes of a turn of fortunes for the beleaguered model. Last November Boeing projected it would deliver between 400 and 450 of the airplanes this year, compared with 387 in 2022.