Where does the titanium that has been used to manufacture Boeing and Airbus planes for five years come from? The American civil aviation regulator launched an investigation, after being alerted by the American manufacturer, which had doubts about the documentation accompanying this metal.
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Boeing spontaneously reported to the Federal Aviation Administration that a titanium supplier may have communicated falsified or incorrect documents, specifies the American civil aviation watchdog. According to New York Timesit would be a Chinese supplier, whose titanium would have been integrated into Boeing’s 737 and 787 Dreamliners, but also into Airbus’ A220s, all built between 2019 and 2023.
Subcontractor of the two manufacturers, Spirit AeroSystems believes according to its own investigation that the documentation was falsified on a batch of titanium, but that its quality was not in question. For the record, titanium helps harden steel alloys.
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Airbus assures that “ the A220’s ability to fly is intact “. Boeing, that its aircraft already in service can “ keep flying “, but that it will remove titanium from devices not yet delivered.
For the American aircraft manufacturer, it is an additional setback after its setbacks on the assembly lines and a mid-flight incident on a 737 MAX last month, a few days before the hearing of the Boeing boss by American senators.
Furthermore, the American Transportation Safety Agency, the NTSB, reported, Friday June 14, an investigation relating to an incident that occurred on a 737 MAX 8 of the Southwest company during a flight carried out on May 25 . The aircraft began to roll sideways, before the pilots managed to regain control.
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