Aircraft maker Boeing is facing more than $3.9 million in penalties from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the company allegedly neglected to adhere to its own quality assurance system before installing “nonconforming components” on some 133 aircraft.
The FAA announced Friday that Boeing’s negligence in airworthiness certification and installation of subpar aircraft equipment may result in a total of $3,916,871 in civil penalties from the federal government.
According to the administration, slat tracks processed by Southwest United Industries (SUI) on June 29, 2018, and shipped to Spirit AeroSystems Inc. were ultimately delivered to Boeing for installation on its 737-series aircraft, despite the components failing a strength test.
The FAA claims that Spirit AeroSystems notified Boeing “on or about” September 11, 2018, that the slat tracks in question had failed a quality test that detected traces of hydrogen embrittlement.
Back in June, Sputnik reported that the FAA had identified potential issues with some 148 slat tracks that would require their replacement in the affected aircraft. Days later, the administration issued an Airworthiness Directive and mandated inspections based on the parameters laid out in a previous service bulletin.
“The FAA alleges that identification of the defective parts was hindered because SUI did not apply a protective coating over the part identification mark that is required to be displayed on the slat tracks,” read the FAA statement. “As a result, those part identification marks became either obscured or invisible, making it difficult to identify the affected parts.”
Earlier this year, The Verge estimated that Boeing had earmarked more than $5 billion to cover airline reimbursement fees related to the 737 Max’s grounding alone. As for the victims’ families, it was estimated that the aircraft maker had set aside $100 million to cover compensation costs.
The FAA release concluded by noting that Boeing has a total of 30 days to respond to the notice of the proposed civil penalty.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
