Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 13th, Summary | Frequent accidents Boeing is caught in aviation safety dilemma.
Xinhua news agency reporter
Mense (built-in emergency door) falls off during flight, the engine catches fire in the air, and the tire falls off during takeoff … … Recently, Boeing Company of the United States has been caught in an aviation safety dilemma, and different types of passenger planes have been involved in safety accidents, and related investigations and audits have also exposed many problems.
The US media reported on the 11th that the FAA found many problems after reviewing the production of Boeing 737 MAX series passenger aircraft. Among the 89 audit contents, 33 Boeing failed, many problems were classified as failure to follow established manufacturing processes, procedures or operating instructions, and some were quality control records; Among the 13 items of audit accepted by Boeing airframe supplier, Binrui Aviation Systems Company, 7 items have problems, including the related audit of aircraft Mense.
On the 11th, a Boeing 787-9 passenger plane flying from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand experienced a "technical failure" during the flight, and the fuselage shook violently, causing at least 50 injuries. Since Latham Airlines, the operator of the passenger plane involved, is headquartered in Chile, the Civil Aviation Administration of Chile has indicated that it will cooperate with the New Zealand Traffic Accident Investigation Committee to investigate the accident.
Since the beginning of this year, Boeing passenger plane safety accidents have occurred frequently. On March 7th, when a Boeing 777-200 of United Airlines flew to Osaka, Japan, took off from San Francisco, USA, a tire on the left main landing gear fell off. The falling tire debris damaged several cars in the airport employee parking lot. On March 4th, a Boeing 737 of United Airlines flying from Houston to Fort Myers was forced to return due to engine fire shortly after take-off. On February 19th, a Boeing 757-200 of United Airlines flying from San Francisco to Boston was prepared to land at Denver International Airport due to wing damage. On January 13th, a Boeing 737 passenger plane of Japan’s All Nippon Airways cracked in the front glass of the cockpit during the flight, and immediately returned … …
Boeing also had a "falling door" accident at the beginning of the year. On January 5th, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger plane of Alaska Airlines took off, and a Mense fell off on the side of the cabin. Investigators found that four bolts that should have fixed Mense in place were missing. The accident occurred only about two months before the passenger plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines. Since then, Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger planes have been grounded for inspection in the United States and many places around the world, and some passenger planes have exposed problems such as loose parts during inspection.
A series of safety accidents have aggravated people’s concerns about Boeing’s quality control problems. DPA recently reported that the number of Boeing 737 MAX series passenger planes delivered by Boeing Company in February was greatly reduced. "After a dramatic incident in January, this aircraft manufacturer is now under pressure to improve quality control".
In a statement on February 28th, the FAA asked Boeing to make a comprehensive action plan within 90 days to solve its "systematic quality control problem". Mike Whitaker, director of the bureau, said: "Boeing must re-examine all aspects of its quality control process and ensure that safety is the company’s guiding principle."
In addition to the intervention of the FAA, Boeing was also investigated by national transportation safety board and the US Department of Justice for the above-mentioned Mense shedding accident. Boeing said it would cooperate with relevant investigations and audits. However, Jennifer Hormendi, president of national transportation safety board, said that Boeing did not cooperate with the investigation.
