Boeing 737: Firm may delay delivery of more jets after worker finds misdrilled holes after Alaska Airlines incident

Boeing might have to delay deliveries of more of its 737 jets after a worker found misdrilled holes in fuselages. In a letter shared with the media, Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Stan Deal told staff a worker at a supplier had discovered the production issue. 

It comes after Boeing 737 Max 9 jets were grounded after a window blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane shortly after take-off on 5 January. The jets are now back in service however former Boeing quality manager is "concerned" the 737 planes are back in the air after the window blowout incident as issues "have been ignored" due to “jobs not being completed properly”. John Barnett told TMZ that “they have done due diligence and inspections to ensure that the door plugs on the 737 are installed properly” but “my concern is what about the rest of the aeroplane?”.

Spirit AeroSystems, based in Wichita, Kansas, makes many of the fuselages for the Boeing MAX jets. A former US congressman Peter DeFazio previously accused Boeing of being “happy” to rely on “crappy stuff” from its subcontractor “because it’s cheap”. 

Spirit spokesperson Joe Buccino told the Reuters news agency: "We are in close communication with Boeing on this matter." Mr Deal said that "while this potential condition is not an immediate safety issue and all 737s can continue operating safely, we currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered planes." He added that the employee at the fuselages supplier told his manager two holes may not have been drilled according to specifications.

More than 170 planes were grounded by US regulators when the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 was forced to make an emergency landing on 5 January. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the only other US airline flying the MAX 9, reported finding loose hardware in door plugs of other planes they inspected after the incident.

The Alaska Airlines incident is the latest in a series of safety problems for the Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The aircraft were grounded around the world after two catastrophic crashes in 2018 due to an automated flight-control system called MCAS resulting in 346 fatalities. The 737 Max has also experienced problems with the rudder control system and anti-ice systems.