Boeing has announced a one-day “quality stand down” at its Seattle-area factory to explore ways to improve production amid safety concerns following the Alaska Airlines door mishap.
The Boeing 737 factory in Renton, Washington, will halt production on Thursday and hold workshops focused on quality, the company announced.
Boeing has taken steps to improve quality after an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane narrowly avoided disaster earlier this month when a door plug ripped off at 16,000 feet.
Sources told the Seattle Times that the fuselage panel that was blown off the plane was removed for repairs and then improperly reinstalled by mechanics at the Renton plant.
Internal communications to Boeing employees said: “The first shutdown will occur on Thursday for the 737 program.” “Production, delivery and support efforts will be paused for one day to allow teammates to attend work sessions focused on Quality works.”
A Boeing 737 factory in Renton, Washington, will hold a one-day “quality stand down,” halting production so workshops can focus on ways to improve quality
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal (pictured) said the session will allow employees who touch the planes to “stop, evaluate what we're doing, how we're doing it, and make recommendations for improvements.”
“During breaks, teammates engage in hands-on learning, reflection and collaboration to identify where quality and compliance can be improved and create actionable plans that are followed through to completion.”
Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the Quality Stand Down session will allow employees who touch the planes to “pause, evaluate what we are doing, how we are doing it, and make recommendations for improvements.” “.
The company plans to hold Quality Stand Down sessions at other factories in the coming weeks to include all of its aircraft programs.
If the Alaska Airlines door plug were installed at the Renton plant, Boeing would be primarily responsible for the accident, rather than its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which originally installed the panel on the jet in Wichita, Kansas.
An anonymous whistleblower who appears to have knowledge of Boeing's manufacturing records wrote on the aviation website Leeham News about how the door plug came to be removed and incorrectly installed.
“There are four screws that prevent the center exit door plug from slipping off the door stop fittings that withstand the actual pressure loads in flight, and these four screws were not installed when Boeing delivered the aircraft. Our own records reflect this,” the whistleblower said.
They said the mechanics' work should have been inspected, but this was not the case because a process error occurred and two separate systems were used to record the work carried out.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said his company found “some loose screws on many” Boeing 737 MAXs during inspections following the mid-air cabin panel burst on Jan. 5 that forced the emergency landing of a new Alaska jet 9 found.
On January 5, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 took off from Portland, Oregon, bound for California and was forced to make a harrowing emergency landing when the door plug exploded at 16,000 feet.
The FAA grounded most Boeing MAX 9 jets for inspections after the incident.
Alaska Airlines said on Jan. 8 that initial reports from its engineers indicated that “loose hardware was visible on some 737 MAX 9 aircraft.”
“I'm beyond frustrated and disappointed.” “I'm angry,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci told “NBC Nightly News” in an interview that aired Tuesday night.
“My request to Boeing is: What are they going to do to improve their quality programs internally?”
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby warned that Boeing needed “real action” to restore its reputation.
Kirby said he was “disappointed” by Boeing's ongoing production problems and would consider alternatives to purchasing a larger version later.
“I think that's the straw that broke the camel's back – the grounding of the Max 9 – is probably the straw that broke the camel's back,” he told CNBC. “We will at least create a plan that does not include Max 10.”
Alaska Airlines said it found “some loose screws on many” Boeing 737 MAX 9s during inspections after the mid-air cabin panel burst on January 5 (pictured).
On Saturday, a Delta Air Lines plane taking off from Atlanta lost its nose tire while attempting to take off.
The Boeing 757 was scheduled to take off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Bogota, Colombia, on Saturday when the nose wheel came loose.
According to the FAA, the nose wheel came loose and rolled down the hill as it did when setting up and waiting for takeoff.
An Atlas Air Boeing 747 had to land at Miami International Airport shortly after takeoff because one of the engines caught fire.
The captain said the incident involved engine number two and occurred “during climb” out of the airport.
Officials later said that upon inspection, a hole the size of a “softball” was found above the engine when it landed.