A six-week audit by the Federal Aviation Administration of Boeing’s production of the 737 MAX jet found dozens of problems throughout the manufacturing process at the plane maker and one of its key suppliers, according to a slide presentation reviewed by The New York Times.

The air-safety regulator initiated the examination after a door panel blew off a 737 MAX 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight in early January. Last week, the agency announced that the audit had found “multiple instances” in which Boeing and the supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, failed to comply with quality-control requirements, though it did not provide specifics about the findings.

The presentation reviewed by the Times, though highly technical, offers a more detailed picture of what the audit turned up. Since the Alaska Airlines episode, Boeing has come under intense scrutiny over its quality-control practices, and the findings add to the body of evidence about manufacturing lapses at the company.

For the portion of the examination focused on Boeing, the FAA conducted 89 product audits, a type of review that looks at aspects of the production process. The plane maker passed 56 of the audits and failed 33 of them, with a total of 97 instances of alleged noncompliance, according to the presentation.

The FAA also conducted 13 product audits for the part of the inquiry that focused on Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the fuselage, or body, of the 737 MAX. Six of those audits resulted in passing grades, and seven resulted in failing ones, the presentation said.

At one point during the examination, the air-safety agency observed mechanics at Spirit using a hotel key card to check a door seal, according to a document that describes some of the findings. That action was “not identified/documented/called-out in the production order,” the document said.

In another instance, the FAA saw Spirit mechanics apply liquid Dawn soap to a door seal “as lubricant in the fit-up process,” according to the document. The door seal was then cleaned with a wet cheesecloth, the document said, noting that instructions were “vague and unclear on what specifications/actions are to be followed or recorded by the mechanic.”

  • Stopthatgirl7@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    There was a time when Boeing was famous for its quality. Then came corporate greed and having to please shareholders over everything else.

    • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      It’s almost like crime pays, and structuring society around the profit motive is a corrosive force that ultimately ends up rewarding the most greedy, manipulative, immoral, and unethical…

      • ramble81@lemmynsfw.com
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        8 months ago

        “Fiduciary duty” is one of the worst phrases to be used in the past 50+ years. The sheer concept that you are beholden to maximize the bottom line dollar for the shareholders above all else, period.

      • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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        8 months ago

        Except the only crimes here are possibly criminal negligence, and Boeing’s shareholders and management aren’t being rewarded.

        What on earth are you on about?

      • harderian729@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        If only women were attracted to poor men, then these problems would be solved overnight.

        But they need their sephora to show off to other greedy peers.

        We breed for greed.

        • agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          What the fuck

          Whatever is feeding you ideas like this you need to break the hell away before it ruins you for life.

        • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          So capitalism is women’s fault? You’d be hard pressed to come up with a stupider theory

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          What the fuck are you talking about with this incel bullshit? I’ve never been rich. I’ve been quite poor. I’ve also been married for 23 years.

          I also have plenty of non-rich friends in happy, positive relationships too.

          Believe it or not, women are not a hive mind. If you think women as a whole aren’t attracted to you because you aren’t rich, you’re wrong and need some serious introspection.

  • n3m37h@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 months ago

    Have the CEO and board members pay back any bonuses since the first instance of sub par quality control.

  • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Big question for me now: is Airbus all the same, or is Boeing really this uniquely shitty? Like is Airbus staying quiet and covering their ass as best they can right now?

    Are all commerical jets this shitty, or some models from one supplier…

    This isn’t a both sides comment

    • Killer_Tree@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      Boeing seems to largely have gone downhill due to a merger which changed the company culture, and chasing profits via stock buy-backs instead of investing in the company operations. It’s unclear but unlikely that Airbus is experiencing the same issues.

      Joh Oliver did a great segment on it: Last Week Tonight - Boeing