"CHIN LI!"
Posted on 06/14/2024 8:25:53 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
The problem has been traced back to a Chinese supplier.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating an issue involving the authenticity of titanium used in Airbus and Boeing jets after a supplier discovered holes in the metal due to corrosion. This has raised suspicions that a supply chain partner may have falsified documentation, much like the AOG Technics scandal uncovered last year.
As first reported by The New York Times, Airbus and Boeing partner Spirit AeroSystems has alleged that titanium used on recently-built aircraft at both planemakers may have been falsely verified, leading the FAA to launch an investigation.
Apparently, Italian parts supplier Titanium International Group found small holes in titanium in December 2023, and also raised suspicions about the authenticity of documentation. It notified Spirit AeroSystems of the issue, which in turn informed Airbus and Boeing in January 2024. According to three anonymous sources close to the matter, affected planes include those built between 2019 and 2023 and involve the Boeing 737 MAX, 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A220 programs.
The problem has been traced back to a Chinese supplier that sold titanium to Turkish company Turkish Aerospace Industries in 2019. Documentation from this Chinese supplier claimed that the titanium had been sourced from another Chinese firm, Baoji Titanium Industry - however, Baoji Titanium has confirmed that it did not provide this batch of titanium "and has no business dealing with this company."
Airbus and Boeing tests find no problems
Buccino added that aircraft equipped with unverified components will likely remove the parts no matter what happens to be on the safe side. The issue highlights the complexity of the global aviation supply chain and is strongly reminiscent of the AOG Technics scandal when the UK-based supplier falsely verified parts used on the CFM 56 engine.
(Excerpt) Read more at simpleflying.com ...
What adds to the difficulty is getting certificates in Chinese with English cover letter. So you have to find your Chinese engineer on staff to read it and tell you the Chinese material certificate is a copy of a restaurant take-away menu or something.
CHINA and TURKEY…. what could possibly go wrong?
"CHIN LI!"
They'd look you right in the eye and say, "We didn't make that, they did."
Our team, which was hammering them for quality control would simply tell them, "You accepted it and you imported it. I don't want to hear your excuses."
One other issue no one wants to talk about is that in subsidized industries such as aviation, the costs often outweigh what you could charge customers.
I was in engineering for thirty years. I did failure analysis for Air Force, Navy and Army materials. I know how complicated things can get. Sometimes, the cause of the problem is something the government insisted on to prevent failures. Things like overly complicated, expensive tests, processes, procedures, documentation, etc. Part of the problem that caused the door to blow off the Alaska Airlines Boeing was both companies involved went out of their way to avoid using the government-imposed rework process as it was not only complicated but caused significant delays. For example, the inspector you need to sign off will be there on Friday, a week away. The material sits in a jig that could be used six times over by that time. But it sits idle and backs up work causing weeks of delays and changes.
The whole aircraft parts process probably needs a significant overhaul from top to bottom with an eye for getting rid of decades of bad processes and unworkable procedures. But just try to get a government entity to change anything. They’re terrified that if they agree to something and bad things result, they’ll be blamed. The company I worked for had an employee in the FAA office in DC. He’d start getting something signed off on a Monday. By Thursday people who had already signed it were looking to see if it was signed off. If not, they’d remove their signature in case something involving that change caused an accident over the weekend and they had their name on something related that wasn’t approve all the way, to spread the blame. I hated working with the government on anything.
Im shocked..... shocked I tell you
Joey not answering the phone.
The good news is that China’s own airplanes probably also use those same unreliable suppliers.
Self-certification works. Ask any fluid college student.
The CEOs of these companies are retarded.
Boeing is going Bye-Bye.
I think they're long past that point. They're a taxpayer-subsidized company in a taxpayer-subsidized industry. They're basically functioning like a utility company at this point and the government isn't going to let them go under because they need to keep it lurching along.
When I worked in Aerospace years ago, we routinely tested material for critical applications, rather than just taking the supplier’s word for it.
Aviation Ping!..................
I’ve seen TV shows from the 1990s about this very thing. One show had the counterfeit parts problem so bad that it even effected Air Force One.
60 Minutes had an anonymous drug dealer on of of their pieces. He said that he was getting out of the drug business and moving into the fake aircraft parts con as there was more money in it.
Ah but you’re forgetting “too big to fail” brought to us courtesy of the dems saving GM. Now large companies will all expect a gubmint bailout.
If there’s counterfeit titanium in the aviation parts supply chain, shouldn’t we be on the lookout for bogus Upsidaisium as well?
bad link site not secure
Boeing outsources a lot of their aircraft parts mostly from China. China makes the 737 wings among other parts. GE and Rolls engines are used on Boeing planes. Basically Boeing just makes what’s called the barrels put together as the fuselage and shipped to the Boeing plant in Everett or Renton WA.
If you can’t trust the Chinese who can you trust?........................🙄
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.