TAM Receives Second Boeing 777; Fleet Now Has 123 Aircraft

Sunday 25/11/2018 - Source: Airline news

Boeing is meeting with the U.S. Defense Contracts Management Agency (DCMA) today to find out what needs to be done before production of CH-47 helicopters and V-22 tiltrotor fuselages can resume at its Philadelphia plant.

Both lines were halted on Nov. 21 when the local DCMA representative issued a Level 4 corrective action report (CAR) after a Boeing employee found debris in a V-22 fuselage during a quality-assurance inspection.
Boeing in not providing details of the incident as a DCMA investigation is under way, but news reports quote Pennsylvania congressman Rep. Joe Sestak as saying a plastic cap was found blocking a fuel line.

In May, the company had to shut down the CH-47 line after two of the helicopters were sabotaged. An employee later pleaded guilty to cutting a wire bundle on one aircraft, but the cause of a washer found in the transmission of another helicopter has not been determined.

Boeing says the production lines are halted but all employees are continuing to report for work. "Over the weekend we looked at every process and cleaned and inspected every inch of the shop floor," a company spokesman says.

A Level 4 CAR is a "serious issue", the spokesman acknowledges. "The DCMA will issue the criteria we have to meet to restart production, As of now, we don't know when we will be able to."