The issue is not that the parts aren’t titanium, its that there isn’t a paper trail documenting the titanium.
This is an issue, because improperly forged titanium can have issues that makes it unsuitably weak for its intended purpose. Having documentation showing where the materials came from, when it was inspected for defects and when it was manufactured is critical for safety.
United flight 232 had an engine explode in part due to defective titanium. This is a real safety concern.
Though the headline says boeing, the article mentions these undocumented parts being found in airbus planes as well. Its an industry problem, not a Boeing specific one.
The problem is it’s actually is sorta Boeing’s fuck up here. The questionable source titanium was caught at spirit aerospace who manufactures parts for Boeing and airbus. Spirit aerospace was originally a Boeing factory that was spun off into its own company in 2005 in one of Boeing idiodic stock pump schemes. Boeing on paper does not have control over spirit aerospace but all of spirit’s leadership came from Boeing with their CEO having worked for Boeing for 31 years. Boeing also has a lot of pull inside spirit being their largest customer by a significant margin. Boeing is currently in talks of buying back spirit aerospace to fix the mess they got themselves into.
Well the alternative here would have been to not say anything and cover it up. They found counterfeit material in their inventory and raised the alarm, nothing better they could have done. I don’t know what the acquisition process was for that stock, maybe they did fuck up by buying it, but once you realize the problem is there you have to say something or people die.
We are really going to have to wait for the FAA’s investigation because there’s still all sorts of questions about their acquisition process and where exactly was the certificate forged. The big question i have thought was when did spirit discover that the certificates were forged because they are claiming parts manufactured all the way back in 2019 were effected. I believe some suspicion on the side of spirit is warranted because this is the same company that is currently being investigated on claims that they were covering up safety issues. Not to speculate too much but I wouldn’t be surprised if spirit knew the titanium was fraudulent as early as 2019 and are only now doing something about it because they are being investigated for other issues and wanted to control the narrative.
Did they “fuck up” though? Or did they intentionally fire their best people in order to save money, knowing the consequences would be cheaper than the profit made.
I brought up that flight to highlight the importance of these paper trails, as defective titanium can fail catastrophically.
The engine exploded “in part due to” the engine manufacturer’s failure in quality control, but also the airline’s maintenance department failing to find the fatigue cracks during maintenance checks.
Boeing was not involved in flight 232, the plane was a DC-10.
Boeing was not involved in flight 232, the plane was a DC-10.
At the time no, but McDonnell-Douglas made the DC-10 and after their merger with Boeing in 1997 has been largely responsible for the downfall of Boeing, by bringing their corporate culture over.
The engine exploded “in part due to” the engine manufacturer’s failure in quality control, but also the airline’s maintenance department failing to find the fatigue cracks during maintenance checks.
IIRC the type of fatigue crack wouldn’t have been noticed by the inspection methods of the time during its last check. Inspections were improved as a result of the investigation into United 232.
The issue is not that the parts aren’t titanium, its that there isn’t a paper trail documenting the titanium.
This is an issue, because improperly forged titanium can have issues that makes it unsuitably weak for its intended purpose. Having documentation showing where the materials came from, when it was inspected for defects and when it was manufactured is critical for safety.
United flight 232 had an engine explode in part due to defective titanium. This is a real safety concern.
Though the headline says boeing, the article mentions these undocumented parts being found in airbus planes as well. Its an industry problem, not a Boeing specific one.
It is annoying how the media keeps riding the Boeing name for the clicks. Yes, Boeing fucked up, they aren’t the only one in aerospace fucking up.
The problem is it’s actually is sorta Boeing’s fuck up here. The questionable source titanium was caught at spirit aerospace who manufactures parts for Boeing and airbus. Spirit aerospace was originally a Boeing factory that was spun off into its own company in 2005 in one of Boeing idiodic stock pump schemes. Boeing on paper does not have control over spirit aerospace but all of spirit’s leadership came from Boeing with their CEO having worked for Boeing for 31 years. Boeing also has a lot of pull inside spirit being their largest customer by a significant margin. Boeing is currently in talks of buying back spirit aerospace to fix the mess they got themselves into.
Well the alternative here would have been to not say anything and cover it up. They found counterfeit material in their inventory and raised the alarm, nothing better they could have done. I don’t know what the acquisition process was for that stock, maybe they did fuck up by buying it, but once you realize the problem is there you have to say something or people die.
We are really going to have to wait for the FAA’s investigation because there’s still all sorts of questions about their acquisition process and where exactly was the certificate forged. The big question i have thought was when did spirit discover that the certificates were forged because they are claiming parts manufactured all the way back in 2019 were effected. I believe some suspicion on the side of spirit is warranted because this is the same company that is currently being investigated on claims that they were covering up safety issues. Not to speculate too much but I wouldn’t be surprised if spirit knew the titanium was fraudulent as early as 2019 and are only now doing something about it because they are being investigated for other issues and wanted to control the narrative.
There’s never a good reason to do that. If you find bad material pretty much all incentives align to have you report it.
A lot of it was in their 787 global manufacturing push.
Did they “fuck up” though? Or did they intentionally fire their best people in order to save money, knowing the consequences would be cheaper than the profit made.
Yeah, didn’t mean to come across as an apologist. Call a shit spade a shit spade. Just annoyed with the media riding the name trolley for ad clicks.
This is the first headline I have seen that excluded Airbus
Except for that they built the plane without titanium.
Fuck off, Boeing.
What? Read the article? Are you fucking crazy?
BuT iT’S tHe AiRlInE tHaT mAiNtAiNs ThE eNgInEs. EvErYoNe StOp PiCkInG oN bOeInG. -Boeing.
You know they also blamed the pilots for the MAX. They would throw everyone they can under the plane.
I brought up that flight to highlight the importance of these paper trails, as defective titanium can fail catastrophically.
The engine exploded “in part due to” the engine manufacturer’s failure in quality control, but also the airline’s maintenance department failing to find the fatigue cracks during maintenance checks.
Boeing was not involved in flight 232, the plane was a DC-10.
At the time no, but McDonnell-Douglas made the DC-10 and after their merger with Boeing in 1997 has been largely responsible for the downfall of Boeing, by bringing their corporate culture over.
IIRC the type of fatigue crack wouldn’t have been noticed by the inspection methods of the time during its last check. Inspections were improved as a result of the investigation into United 232.