WASHINGTON — Some recently manufactured Boeing and Airbus jets have components made from titanium that were sold using false documentation verifying the authenticity of the material, according to a supplier to the planemakers, raising concerns about the structural integrity of these planes.
The falsified documents are being investigated by Spirit AeroSystems, which supplies fuselages to Boeing and wings to Airbus, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration. The investigation comes after a parts supplier found small holes in the material due to corrosion.
In a statement, the FAA said it was investigating the extent of the problem and trying to determine the short- and long-term safety implications for planes made with these parts. It’s unclear how many planes have parts made from questionable materials.
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“Boeing reported a voluntary disclosure to the FAA regarding the acquisition of material through a distributor that may have falsified or provided incorrect records,” the statement said. “Boeing has issued a bulletin outlining ways suppliers should remain alert to the potential for falsified records.”
The revelation comes at a time of intense scrutiny of Boeing and the aviation industry in general, which is suffering a series of accidents and safety issues. In January, a door panel exploded on a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet during flight, sparking multiple federal investigations. In April, Boeing informed the FAA of a separate episode involving potentially falsified inspection records related to the wings of its 787 Dreamliner planes. Boeing told the FAA that it may have ignored required inspections involving the jet’s wings and that it would need to reinspect some of the Dreamliners still in production.
On May 30, Boeing submitted a plan to the FAA outlining the safety improvements it planned to make and committed to holding weekly meetings with the agency. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is scheduled to testify Tuesday before a Senate panel about the company’s safety issues.
The use of potentially fake titanium, which has not been previously reported, threatens to extend the industry’s problems beyond Boeing to Airbus, its European competitor. The planes that included components made from the material were built between 2019 and 2023, including some Boeing 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner planes, as well as Airbus A220 jets, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized. speaking publicly. It’s unclear how many of these planes are in service or which airlines have them.
Spirit is trying to determine where the titanium came from, whether it meets proper standards despite its false documentation, and whether parts made with the material are structurally sound enough to hold up over the jets’ designed lifespan, Spirit officials said. company. Spirit said it was trying to determine the most efficient way to remove and replace the affected parts, should that become necessary.
“These are documents that have been forged, falsified and falsified,” said Joe Buccino, a Spirit spokesman. “As soon as we realized that counterfeit titanium had entered the supply chain, we immediately contained all suspect parts to determine the extent of the problems.”
The titanium in question has been used in several aircraft parts, according to Spirit officials. For the 787 Dreamliner, this includes the passenger entry door, cargo doors and a component that connects the engines to the plane’s fuselage. For the 737 Max and A220, affected parts include a heat shield that protects a component, which connects the jet engine to the structure, from extreme heat.
Boeing and Airbus said testing of the affected materials has so far shown no signs of problems.
Boeing said it directly purchased most of the titanium used in the production of its planes, so most of its supply was not affected.
“This industry-wide issue affects some titanium shipments received by a limited set of suppliers, and testing to date has indicated that the correct titanium alloy was used,” Boeing said in a statement. “To ensure compliance, we are removing all affected parts from the planes prior to delivery. Our analysis shows that the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely.”
Airbus also stated that “the airworthiness of the A220 remains intact”.
“Numerous tests have been carried out on parts coming from the same supply source,” an Airbus spokesperson said in a statement, adding: “The safety and quality of our aircraft are our most important priorities, and we are working closely with our supplier.”
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency did not respond to a request for comment.
Spirit has suffered from quality problems and financial troubles in recent years, and has come under renewed scrutiny this year following January’s episode involving the door panel on the 737 Max, the fuselage of which it manufactures.
The problem illustrates the complex global supply chain used in the production of modern planes, and the story of what appears to have gone wrong involves companies in China, Italy, Turkey and the United States.
The problem appears to date back to 2019, when a Turkish materials supplier, Turkish Aerospace Industries, purchased a batch of titanium from a supplier in China, according to people familiar with the matter. The Turkish company then sold this titanium to several companies that manufacture aircraft parts, and these parts went to Spirit, which used them in Boeing and Airbus planes.
In December 2023, an Italian company that purchased titanium from Turkish Aerospace Industries noticed that the material looked different from what the company normally received. The company Titanium International Group also found that the certificates accompanying the titanium appeared inauthentic.
Turkish Aerospace Industries did not respond to a request for comment.
Spirit began investigating the matter and the company notified Boeing and Airbus in January that it was unable to verify the origin of the titanium used to make certain parts. Titanium International Group told Spirit that when it purchased the material in 2019, it had no idea the paperwork had been falsified, according to Spirit officials.
Francesca Conti, general manager of Titanium International Group, said the episode was under investigation and she could not provide additional details. “We are cooperating with the relevant authorities to resolve any issues identified,” she said in an email.
The documents in question are known as certificates of conformity. They serve as a birth certificate for titanium, detailing its quality, how it was made and where it came from, Spirit officials said.
People familiar with the situation said it appeared that an employee of the Chinese company that sold the titanium falsified details on the certificates, writing that the material came from another Chinese company, Baoji Titanium Industry, a company that frequently supplies verified titanium. Baoji Titanium later confirmed that it had not supplied the titanium. The origin of titanium remains unclear.
“Baoji Titanium does not know about the company and does not do business with it,” the company said in a statement to The New York Times.
Without knowing where the material came from or how it was handled, it’s impossible to verify the airworthiness of parts, said Gregg Brown, Spirit’s senior vice president of global quality.
“Our quality management process depends on the traceability of raw materials back to the factories,” said Brown. “There was a loss of traceability in this process and a documentation challenge.”
Spirit officials said they began testing titanium parts to ensure aviation-grade material was used. The company is testing components that are still in stock and that are in undelivered airframes.
So far, Spirit’s tests have confirmed that titanium is the appropriate grade for aircraft manufacturers. But the company was unable to confirm whether the titanium was treated through the approved aircraft manufacturing process. The material passed some of the materials tests performed, but failed others.
Buccino said Spirit is working with customers to identify affected planes. Aircraft already in service will be monitored by airlines and removed from service earlier than normal if necessary, he said. Most likely, he said, the affected parts will be removed during routine maintenance checks, regardless of whether the titanium is correct.
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