I came across this documentary, where two ex-boeing employees say that 737NG's are build with ill-fitting parts. they talk about the cords that constitute the airframe skeleton, which are produced by a third company sub-contracted by boeing. these parts are supposed to be produced by computer controlled machines, instead they are made by hand. the problem with this is that they are not as accurate as they should be, which makes the whole airframe not being strong enough and not as safe. previous generations of 737's were build by hand made parts but the NG series were certified to operate at higher weights, speeds and altitudes because these accurate parts can fit tightly to make a stronger aiframe.

 

i just hope this is not true at all.

 

Well, there's an hour of my life I wish I could have back. The same old story of collusion between soulless corporations and government stooges to trade lives and safety for cash. One has to wonder why this had to be produced by Aljazeera rather than ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, or any other "mainstream" media outlets. Conspiracy to suppress the truth? The video is ten years old; Boeing no longer owns the plant that builds 737 fuselages, it's Spirit Aviation now. I wonder if the same sub-contractor is building parts for them today.

Well, there's an hour of my life I wish I could have back. The same old story of collusion between soulless corporations and government stooges to trade lives and safety for cash. One has to wonder why this had to be produced by Aljazeera rather than ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, or any other "mainstream" media outlets. Conspiracy to suppress the truth? The video is ten years old; Boeing no longer owns the plant that builds 737 fuselages, it's Spirit Aviation now. I wonder if the same sub-contractor is building parts for them today.

Consider the source. What knowledge does Aljazeera really have on the topic of aviation? Not much, as it shows in their "reporting", if one can call it that.

 

The three crashes they give as examples are BS. It doesn't matter to Aljazeera that the crashes were ALL runway under/overruns, the cause in each case was pilot error. Oh No, it had to be the "bad parts" that were to blame.

Even the National Inquirer has done better reporting than this Junk...

 

The "whistle blowers" were all people who don't even touch the parts in question. One is a parts buyer, who sits at a desk and shuffles paperwork, never even seeing the part she is buying. Her job is to buy the part, not inspect it as it arrives at Boeing.

 

You don't CNC machine those types of parts anyhow. The process is called stretch forming and often the parts are cut to length by hand after the forming operation.

 

The "corrosion" one of the "whistle blowers is so concerned about, would be caught in the normal tear down the the planes go thru periodically. And a repair to a ring segment that he points out is routine and just part of the normal life of a plane.

 

Raptor

Robert (PMDG) has commented on this story before....can't find it at the moment though.

 

Basically, don't bother watching the video....

Hi jet fans.

Want another 737 link ? There:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600803.html
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600803.html

 

 You can see more people talking about it there:
http://forums.vatsim.net/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=53640

Blue skies.
 

The main reason I'm not losing sleep over this yet is because of the age of the reporting on it. A lot can change in a few years. I know a lot of people are quick to jump on any suggestion that a large corporation might be covering up misdeeds with the help of corrupt government agencies, but for me the bar is pretty high to buy into anything like that. I also tend to view whistleblowers somewhat skeptically as it often seems they have an agenda.

NG has been in service since 1997. Dont recall one breaking up in the air due to third party frame parts. Maybe Airbus put this story out!

 

Chris