While no serious injuries were reported in the January episode, the consequences could have been far more severe had the panel blown out at a higher altitude when passengers may have been moving around the cabin. The National Transportation Safety Board has said the plane appeared to have left a Boeing factory without the bolts needed to secure the plug, and the company has said it cannot find documentation of that work. The plug had been removed so that workers for Spirit could perform repairs on nearby.
In response, Boeing has made several changes in recent months. It said it has expanded training, simplified plans and processes and increased inspections at its 737 factory in Renton, Wash., as well as at Spirit. Since March, it has also stopped accepting 737 bodies, or fuselages, from Spirit that do not fully meet Boeing’s standards. It had previously tolerated some flaws that could be fixed later, in the interest of keeping production moving.
That change has yielded significant benefits, Elizabeth Lund, a top Boeing quality executive, told reporters at the factory last week. Significantly fewer major defects need to be fixed by Boeing now, she said, and the company is able to assemble the Max much more quickly once bodies arrive in Renton.
Boeing has also said it aims to reduce its practice of performing manufacturing tasks out of sequence, also known as traveled work. Some traveled work is considered necessary, but too much can disrupt the complicated process of making airplanes, possibly contributing to defects and poor workmanship.
In the briefing with reporters, Ms. Lund also shared new detail on how the plane involved in the January flight left the plant without the door plug fully secured. After the plug was removed to make the repairs nearby, a crew readied the plane to be moved outside, putting the plug back in place without its bolts, which was not that team’s responsibility, she said.
Kaynak: briturkish.com
