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>>It would seem that we would need to know what kind of part this is if we want to continue flying and trusting Boeing. >While I agree that Boeing should tell
by jasode 5y ago
>>It would seem that we would need to know what kind of part this is if we want to continue flying and trusting Boeing.
>While I agree that Boeing should tell us which specific part it is,
In general, it's bad business etiquette to publicly name & shame defects/mistakes made by business partners or company employees. Whether a supplier messed up a titanium part or a Facebook employee misconfigured a router, you don't call out their names in public.
Yes, it's understandable we readers would want to know all the dirty details but Boeing giving us that may also have the opposite effect: less safety instead of more.
In this case, it was the supplier that notified Boeing about the defect. If Boeing publicly outed that supplier to the press, that adds perverse incentives for the supplier (and other suppliers) to not notify airplane manufacturers in the future which creates unsafe planes.
On the other hand, it's probably good if Boeing privately notifies the FAA inspectors so they are alerted to it. Maybe they already shared that information.
- magicalhippo 5y agoI mean it might not even be the direct supplier's fault, if they sourced the titanium from a company which didn't deliver what they certified[1]. [1]: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aluminum-extrusion-manufacturer-agrees-pay-over-46-million-defrauding-customers-including https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/aluminum-extrusion-manufactur...
- wombatpm 5y agoRaw materials should be quality inspected. It was a big deal when we had 150 rolls of copper strip fail the QC testing. I worked inbound inspection for three summers at Andrew Corporation. We checked everything before it was stocked on our shelves. I remember asking why do we have to have to check the threads on boxes of Cap Screws from external supplies. The answer I was given is that when a technition is 150ft in the air mounting waveguides, he needs to know that the stupid screws will work the first time.
- jacquesm 5y agoThat's not how it works in aerospace. Certification is there to ensure quality control throughout the chain, but you still need to do your own quality control at every step to ensure that what you produce will be within spec. You can't just rely on the certification of your source materials.
- vkou 5y agoIt's the supplier's fault that they didn't do QC on their upstream vendors, just like it's Boeing's fault that they didn't do QC on their supplier.
- ncallaway 5y agoIs it public knowledge which contractors provide which parts for every part? Is Boeing publicly naming the part also publicly naming the supplier?