US FAA hits Boeing 737MAX production for weak quality control

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday said the agency's 737 MAX production audit into Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.

The FAA also said it found "non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control." The agency released a summary of its findings to the companies but did not make that public because it is part of an ongoing investigation, it said.

Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the fuselage for the MAX, did not immediately comment.

The audit was prompted by a Jan. 5 mid-air emergency involving a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 that lost a door plug at 16,000 feet (4,877 meters). The FAA previously barred Boeing from expanding 737 production.

Last week, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said Boeing must develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues" within 90 days following an all-day meeting with CEO Dave Calhoun.

"Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements,” Whitaker said last week. "We are going to hold them accountable every step of the way, with mutually understood milestones and expectations." 

Calhoun said in a statement last week that Boeing's leadership team was "totally committed" to addressing FAA concerns and developing the plan.

Boeing has scrambled to explain and strengthen safety procedures since the mid-air incident that led to the FAA grounding the MAX 9 for several weeks in January.

Whitaker said Boeing's plan must incorporate results of the FAA production-line audit and findings from an expert review panel report released last week.

Boeing last month abruptly removed Ed Clark, the head of its 737 MAX program, as part of a management shakeup.

The door panel that flew off the MAX 9 appeared to be missing four key bolts, according to a preliminary report last month from the U.S. National Safety Transportation Board.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in WashingtonEditing by Chris Sanders and Matthew Lewis)