Still Can't Make Planes

We have yet another major safety failure by Boeing.  In this case, Boeing used titanium lacking proper documentation in its aircraft. 

It's yet another case where Boeing outsourced key areas, and paid the price:

Federal regulators are investigating how parts made with titanium that was sold with falsified quality documentation wound up in Boeing and Airbus passenger jets that were built in recent years.

Boeing and Airbus said Friday that planes containing the parts are safe to fly, but Boeing said it was removing affected parts from planes that haven’t been delivered yet to airline customers.

It will be up to regulators including the Federal Aviation Administration to decide whether any work needs to be done to planes that are already carrying passengers.

The FAA said it is “investigating the scope and impact of the issue.” The agency said Boeing reported the problem covering material from a distributor “who may have falsified or provided incorrect records.” The FAA did not name the distributor.

Boeing and Airbus declined to say how many planes were flying with parts made from the undocumented titanium. 

………

The New York Times first reported the FAA investigation. The newspaper said a parts supplier found small holes in the material from corrosion.

The aerospace supply chain is a global one. The titanium came from a supplier in China starting around 2019 and was sold to several companies that make components that Spirit Aerosystems uses in its work for Boeing and Airbus, according to two people familiar with the situation. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.

If Boeing to survive, I think that senior management needs to be frog marched out of their offices in handcuffs.