A recent investigation by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revealed that during the construction of some 787 “Dreamliner” long-haul jets, there was an issue with the connection between the wings and the fuselage not being properly checked as it should have been. This led to a deeper investigation after it was discovered that Boeing employees had falsified test reports related to this issue.
Boeing confirmed that checks on the connection between the fuselage and wings were skipped but were inaccurately recorded as completed. The company assured that this was not an immediate safety concern for the current fleet of airplanes and that no aircraft needed to be grounded. However, the FAA announced a new investigation to ensure all necessary inspections were conducted and to look into the allegations of forgery.
The company is now inspecting all 787s on the production lines and is developing a plan for those aircraft already in service. The issue was brought to light when a Boeing employee reported a violation of audit requirements to management. It was discovered that certain tests were skipped but falsely documented as completed by staff at the South Carolina plant. Boeing promptly notified the FAA of the violation and is now conducting unscheduled inspections.
This incident comes amidst growing concerns about Boeing’s quality oversight following an incident in which a piece of fuselage detached from a Boeing 737-9 Max shortly after take-off. This incident, along with other concerns, prompted the FAA to request Boeing to improve its quality controls and halt the expansion of 737 Max production. In addition, a whistleblower at a Senate hearing claimed that many 787 aircraft had gaps between fuselage parts that were too high, potentially affecting their service life. Boeing denies these allegations.
