Boeing (BOE, Washington National) has identified a potentially widespread non-safety-critical quality problem originating at its largest B737 supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, and is now evaluating whether the necessary fixes will jeopardise the 2023 delivery target.
The Air Current first reported the issue related to misaligned holes in aft B737-8 pressure bulkheads. It does not pose a safety risk to the in-service fleet, and the manufacturer has yet to determine how many aircraft are affected. On some airframes, Boeing discovered "hundreds" of misaligned fastener holes.
The issue will cause some short-term delivery delays, Boeing confirmed, including the delivery of a first B737-8 to Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur International), planned for August 28. It is still studying whether the problem will force it to miss its target of delivering at least 400 B737 MAX this year.
"Based upon what we know now, we believe there will not be a material impact to our delivery range for the year related to this issue," Spirit AeroSystems told Reuters.
Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems is the sole supplier of B737 fuselages and, in total, accounts for around 70% of airframe parts. The two companies have had a rocky relationship in recent years with repeated snags at Spirit AeroSystems causing delivery delays. On August 22, citing insufficient evidence, the US appeals court dismissed a class action lawsuit against the supplier by a group of investors alleging fraud by withholding information about B737 fuselage production cuts.
