FAA investigating how titanium parts with falsified records wound up in Boeing and Airbus planes
Federal officials are investigating how parts made with titanium sold with falsified documentation wound up in Boeing and Airbus passenger jets
Federal regulators are investigating how parts made with titanium that was sold with falsified quality documentation wound up in Boeing and Airbus passenger jets that were built in recent years.
Boeing and Airbus said Friday that planes containing the parts are safe to fly, but Boeing said it was removing affected parts from planes that haven’t been delivered yet to airline customers.
It will be up to regulators including the Federal Aviation Administration to decide whether any work needs to be done to planes that are already carrying passengers.
The FAA said it is “investigating the scope and impact of the issue.” The agency said Boeing reported the problem covering material from a distributor “who may have falsified or provided incorrect records.” The FAA did not name the distributor.
Boeing and Airbus declined to say how many planes were flying with parts made from the undocumented titanium.
Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages for Boeing planes and wings for Airbus jets, reported the falsified documents.
“This is about titanium that has entered the supply system via documents that have been counterfeited," Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino said. “When this was identified, all suspect parts were quarantined and removed from Spirit production.”
Buccino said more than 1,000 tests have been conducted on the material «to ensure continued airworthiness.”
The New York Times first reported the FAA investigation. The newspaper said a parts supplier found small holes in the material from corrosion.
Titanium alloys have been used for decades in aircraft production because of their
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