Another manufacturing quality issue has impacted the Boeing 737 MAX and the P-8 Poseidon, a military variant of the 737 NextGeneration (NG).
Spirit AeroSystems, a Tier 1 supplier to Boeing, acknowledged that a problem with “elongated fastener holes on the aft pressure bulkhead” has affected the 737 fuselages that it sends to the aircraft manufacturer from Wichita, Kansas, in the United States (US).
“Because Spirit uses multiple suppliers for the aft pressure bulkhead, only some units are affected,” the supplier said, adding that it would continue delivering fuselages to Boeing.
In response to the new manufacturing issue, Spirit AeroSystems said that it “has implemented changes to its manufacturing process to address this issue”.
“We are working closely with our customer to address any impacted units within the production system and address any needed rework,” the manufacturer continued.
The issue with the fastener holes is not expected to have a significant impact on Spirit AeroSystems’ ability to deliver units at this time.
According to Boeing, there “is no immediate safety of flight concern associated with this issue for the 737 fleet and that the in-service fleet may continue to operate”.
The Air Current was the first to report the manufacturing issue. According to the article, some fuselages contain “hundreds of misaligned and duplicated holes”.
