18:14 June 14, 2024, updated 18:44 June 14, 2024
Aircraft manufactured by Boeing and Airbus made components of titanium that were sold with false documentation.
The Federal Aviation Administration unveiled the problem after Boeing had reported it to the agency when it was informed by parts supplier Spirit Aerosystems.
Spirit is the same company that made the door of the 737 Max plane that received a swing door on January 5 and thus caused the recent wave of Boeing’s problems.
Forged documentation that certifies the authenticity of the titanium, could mean that it does not meet the standards or has not been tested to withstand the hardships of air travel.
The FAA said that she could “influence the size and impact of the problem” and how this could influence the safety of the unknown number of airplanes that the parts uses.
“Boeing has reported a voluntary disclosure to the FAA with regard to the purchase of material via a distributor who may have provided falsified or incorrect information,” according to the report.
“Boeing has issued a bulletin in which it is explained how suppliers should stay alert to the possibility of forged data.”
The problem was discovered after a parts supplier discovered small holes in the titanium as a result of corrosion.
Spirit, which makes Rolls for Boeing and Wings for Airbus, tested the metal to determine whether it was met by the standards and was structurally healthy enough.
“This is about documents that have been falsified, falsified and copied,” the report said.
“When we realized that the counterfeit titanium ended up in the supply chain, we immediately brought all suspicious parts under control to determine the extent of the problems.”
Spirit also tried to trace the source of the material to find out more about it and how it ended up unnoticed in the supply chain.
The documentation is known as a conformity certificate and gives details where the titanium comes from, how it is made and its quality.
The suspicious parts are used in aircraft made between 2019 and 2023, including the Boeing 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A220.
Spirit said it was used in the passenger door of the 787, cargo doors and a part that connects the engines with the aircraft of the aircraft, and a heat shield in the 737 Max and A220 that protects the connecting unit.
Boeing and Airbus refused to say how many aircraft flew with parts made of the undocumented titanium.
They claimed that planes that contain the parts were safe to fly, but Boeing said it removed the affected parts from aircraft that have not yet been delivered to airlines.
“This sector -wide problem has consequences for some shipments of titanium received by a limited number of suppliers, and have shown tests to date that the correct titanium alloy has been used,” says Boeing.
Boeing said that tests indicated that the parts were made of the correct titanium alloy, which raised questions about why the documentation was falsified.
Spirit said that so far it was unable to determine whether the metal had been treated sufficiently to meet the aviation standards, and added that it had passed some tests, but others did not.
De Faa told Boeing that she had to present her recovery plan after a plane of Alaska Airlines had received a folding door on 5 January halfway through the flight.
The accident has further damaged Boeing’s reputation and led to several civil and criminal investigations.