“More than 1,000 tests were performed to confirm the mechanical and metallurgical properties of the material involved to ensure continued airworthiness,” Buccino said.
Airbus has identified its A220 model as affected; Boeing declined to specify which planes were involved in the problem, but said it only affected a small number of parts on each plane.
The titanium problem, first reported by The New York Times, highlights increased concern over counterfeit or poorly documented parts entering the aviation supply chain in recent years and growing pressure on supply of titanium. Aircraft manufacturers rely on a vast network of suppliers, which makes quality control difficult. Several manufacturers launched a working group in February to try to better resolve the problem.
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The FAA said in a statement that Boeing voluntarily disclosed the problem to regulators and issued a bulletin to suppliers, reminding them to be alert to the potential for falsification of records. The agency said it was investigating the extent of the problem.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which oversees Airbus, said it had been informed of the problem by Italian authorities and had opened an investigation. So far, the agency said, it has found no indication of a security problem.
The agency said in a statement that it “will further investigate the root cause of the document tracing issue and will continue to closely monitor any new developments that could lead to an unsafe condition in the fleet.”
While manufacturers have said there are no immediate safety concerns, the disclosure of the questionable titanium came as Boeing remains under close scrutiny from the FAA and lawmakers. Examinations continue into the in-flight door panel explosion on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max in January and whistleblower testimony alleging improper manufacturing processes. Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee investigating the issues next week.
The Times reported that an investigation into the titanium took place after a supplier discovered small holes in the metal linked to corrosion. The metal entered the supply chain from China through Italian and Turkish companies, according to a person briefed on the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation.
Titanium is light but strong, which makes it useful in airplanes. But as demand has increased in recent years and fallout from the war in Ukraine has limited Russian supplies, experts say aviation suppliers are increasingly turning to Chinese sources for the metal, where early stages of production are highly concentrated.
These Chinese sources can be difficult to trace. This poses a problem because titanium is very reactive when produced, meaning the metal for use in aircraft must be manufactured under highly controlled conditions to avoid contamination that can affect its strength and corrosion resistance. , according to Taso Arima, founder of the titanium company IperionX. .
“We have a broken supply chain,” said Arima, whose company is starting to produce the metal in the United States. “It’s very difficult to be able to trace it.”
Boeing said the titanium was linked to shipments involving a small group of suppliers. Tests on the metal indicated the metal was the right type of titanium for use in airplanes, Boeing said.
“We are removing all affected parts from the aircraft prior to delivery,” Boeing said in a statement. “Our analysis shows that the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely. »
Airbus said the airworthiness of its A220 single-aisle aircraft model “remains intact” and that “the safety and quality of our aircraft are our most important priorities.”
As the aviation supply chain has become larger and more complex, moving further and further from the location of final manufacturing, the industry and regulators have become increasingly concerned about how to ensure that spare parts manufacturers meet standards.
Last year, CFM International, an engine manufacturer, accused one of its suppliers, AOG Technics, of having sold it thousands of engine parts with false documents. In September, the FAA issued a formal notification regarding a part supplied by AOG Technics without the agency’s production approval. The British Serious Fraud Office has opened a criminal investigation into the matter.
A subsequent study found that less than 1% of CFM engines used in older-generation Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s were affected, but the incident raised alarms in the industry. This led major U.S. manufacturers and airlines, including American and United, to form a Supply Chain Integrity Coalition. AOG Technics did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
The group, formed in February, is co-chaired by Robert Sumwalt, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and John D. Porcari, former U.S. deputy secretary of Transportation. As part of its work, it launched a 90-day review aimed at finding ways to strengthen existing supply chains, work that will be used to develop recommendations to block unapproved parts.
Porcari presented some of the coalition’s work at a joint aviation safety conference sponsored by U.S. and European regulators in Washington, D.C., this week. He said the allegations against AOG Technics are not isolated incidents. He added that this coalition sees several areas – documentation, authentication, standards and vendor oversight – as critical to its efforts.
“I want to emphasize the pace and intensity of this work,” Porcari told conference attendees. “We’re trying to accomplish this very quickly. This is a unique potential security issue and we have tried to act quickly to resolve it.