An issue with the 737 MAX that has just come to light may require the manufacturer to overhaul hundreds of the model’s airplanes and may even result in a temporary halt to fresh 737 MAX deliveries.
The problem was discovered by Spirit AeroSystems, which informed Boeing about a problem that a “non-standard manufacturing process” was used when joining the aft fuselage and the vertical tail with two fittings of specific 737 NextGeneration (NG) (737 MAX-7, MAX-8, MAX-8-200, and the P-8 Poseidon) aircraft. Unaffected is the 737 MAX-9.
On April 13, 2023, Bloomberg broke the story.
The 737 and other Boeing models, including the 767, 777/777X, and 787, all have fuselages built and delivered by Spirit AeroSystems, a Tier 1 supplier. Parts for various Airbus programs, including the A220, A320ceo/neo family, and A350, are also supplied by the Wichita, Kansas, United States (US)-based company. It once provided parts for the no longer built Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380.
Producing for four years
The issue may affect Boeing 737 MAXs created over the previous four years, including those made after the model was grounded in March 2019. This is according to the supplier.
After a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed into the ground shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the aircraft was grounded by aviation authorities as a result of its second fatal tragedy in a matter of months. In spite of the fact that it is not “an immediate safety of flight issue,” allowing the 737 MAXs that are now in operation to continue flying, it will “affect a significant number of undelivered 737 MAX airplanes, both in production and in storage,” according to a statement by Boeing.
Given that the 737 MAX was not lifted from the ground by authorities in 2019, the company temporarily halted production between January 2020 and May 2020.
The US-based Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) constructed 879 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft between January 1, 2019, and April 14, 2023 (excluding the MAX-9) according to data from ch-aviation.com. According to ch-aviation.com, between November 1, 2020, and April 14, 2023, Boeing produced 438 of the type (excluding the 737 MAX-9) aircraft. American Airlines conducted the 737 MAX’s first post-grounding flight on December 29, 2020, after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the aircraft’s ban on November 18, 2020.
According to ch-aviation.com data, between November 18, 2020, and April 14, 2023, Boeing delivered 752 of the type of aircraft (excluding the 737 MAX-9) to customers.
The full scope of the issue is being assessed by Boeing, which is determining if deliveries will need to be halted and whether 737 MAXs that are currently in service with airlines need to be examined.
