By
The Associated Press
The Boeing company reported another problem with the fuselages of its 737 aircraft that
could delay deliveries of about 50 aircraft
, in the latest quality controversy affecting the manufacturer.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said in a letter to Boeing staff on Monday that a worker at his supplier discovered poorly drilled holes in the fuselages.
Spirit AeroSystems, based in Wichita, Kansas, manufactures many of the Boeing Max aircraft.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane with a door plug similar to the one that came off on a flight on Jan. 5 was awaiting inspection at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Jan. 10.Lindsey Wasson/AP
“Although this potential issue is not an immediate safety issue and all 737 aircraft can continue to operate safely, we believe
we will need to perform repair work on approximately 50 aircraft
that have not yet been delivered,” Deal said in the letter sent to the employees and shared with the media.
The problem was discovered by an employee of the airframe supplier who notified his boss about two holes that may not have been drilled according to specifications, Deal added.
Both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems have been facing intense scrutiny over the quality of their work after an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 was forced to make an emergency landing on January 5 when a panel called a door plug exploded on the side of the plane shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.
[Boeing's questioned model flies again after the dangerous incident that led to its suspension]
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
is investigating the accident
, while the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reviewing whether Boeing and its suppliers followed quality control procedures.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the only other U.S. airline flying the Max 9, reported finding loose hardware in the door plugs of other planes they inspected after the crash.
The FAA grounded all Max 9s in the United States the day after the incident.
Two weeks later, the agency approved the inspection and maintenance process so they could fly again.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines
have begun reusing some of them.
Renton, Washington-based Boeing said last week it was withdrawing a safety waiver request needed to certify a new, smaller model of the 737 Max airliner.
Late last year, the company asked federal regulators to allow delivery of its 737 Max 7 aircraft to customers despite failing to meet a safety standard designed to prevent part of the engine casing from overheating and crashing. could be released during flight.