Spirit Aerosystems is now the target of an investigation in the US

A Boeing subcontractor is in the crosshairs of US justice. The Texas Attorney General's Office has launched an investigation targeting Spirit Aerosystems, which manufactures fuselages and other major components in aircraft structures, including Boeing's flagship 737.

” Obvious manufacturing defects have led to many disturbing or dangerous incidents. on 737 models, detailed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a press release Thursday. On January 5, Boeing came close to disaster when a hatch door came loose from the cabin on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX-9 in mid-air, fortunately with only minor injuries. A number of investigations have been launched, highlighting the continuing problems of Incompatibility “.

Neeti now asks Spirit Aerosystems to manufacture ” Documents to treat defects in its products », and in addition to quality control, the investigation is also interested in its organization and management.

” I will hold any company that fails to ensure the required legal standards to account and do everything in my power to ensure that manufacturers take passenger safety seriously. », attorney Ken Paxton, underlined in his press release.

Boeing, which has already struggled to recover after two crashes in 2018 and 2019, has been reeling from a series of quality and safety issues with its planes for more than a year.

The failure of Dave Calhoun, the president of Boeing

The hearing comes days after Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced his departure at the end of the year. The boss will leave his post at the end of 2024 as part of a reshuffle announced at the planemaker's leadership on Monday 24 March. His successor will be appointed later.

In the midst of the 737 MAX crisis, Boeing boss Dave Calhoun announced he was leaving the ship.

Admitting defeat: He came in January 2020 to restore confidence after the crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines' 737 Max 8 planes that killed a total of 346 people. His predecessor, Dennis Muilenburg, was widely criticized for his management during the crisis.

He didn't go alone. Stan Diehl, director of the business aviation division, has been replaced by Stephanie Pope, who has been with Boeing for nearly three decades, effective immediately. He was appointed as the newly created director of operations in December, which according to experts, puts him in a good position to take over as general manager of the aircraft manufacturer. Also, the chairmanship of the board of directors will go to Steve Mollenkopf. A member of Boeing's management team and a former boss of chipmaker Qualcomm, he is specifically responsible for finding Boeing's future boss. On February 21, Boeing also announced the departure of Ed Clark, vice president and general manager of the 737 program, who also headed the Renton (Washington State) factory near Seattle where the model was assembled.

After the January 5 incident, the United States Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) began an audit of the manufacturer's quality control. Conclusion: The production rate of the 737 was frozen by the FAA at the end of 2023 (38 per month), while the aircraft manufacturer wanted to continue its increase to 50 per month in 2025/2026. Production issues and other incidents have fueled discontent among airlines, which have revised their flight plans for 2024 and stalled thousands of recruits as they failed to get the planes they ordered on time. Thus, Ryanair's boss Michael O'Leary qualified ” essential » These changes to Boeing's corporate schedule

(with AFP).