Boeing 737 Max Discussion

[Mike1080i]

The quality has gone downhill since I worked there (late 80s and early 90s).

One of the suspects being investigated is counterfeit Chinese bolts that were holding the door plug in place. Aftermarket Chinese bolts that turned out to be counterfeit were deemed responsible for an Alaska 727 that went down off the California coast about 20 years ago. It's still on Boeing though for sourcing counterfeit bolts if that is what happened.

I think you might be referring to Alaska 261, an MD-83, back in 2000. In that case it wasn't Chinese bolts, it was improper maintenance by Alaska on the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew. Little to do with the current 737 MAX issues.

To me, it seems that Boeing's slide downhill might have started around the time of the McDonnell Douglas merger in 1997.

 

[wdolson]

I think you might be referring to Alaska 261, an MD-83, back in 2000. In that case it wasn't Chinese bolts, it was improper maintenance by Alaska on the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew. Little to do with the current 737 MAX issues.

To me, it seems that Boeing's slide downhill might have started around the time of the McDonnell Douglas merger in 1997.

You're right, I had a brain fart about it being an MD-83. 727 didn't feel right, but I remembered it was a high tailed airliner.

I remember reading about the jack screws having stringent specs. They were supposed to be made of hardened steel. The industry requires certain marks for the different qualities of steel used in bolts. The investigation of the crash found a Chinese company made their trademark the industry mark for the highest quality steel. The supply chain ended up with these parts in it.

Alaska was held responsible for not doing their due diligence to ensure the parts they were buying were legitimate.

At least that's what I read many years ago. The report may have been updated since then. I don't see any reference to counterfeit bolts in the information out there now. Maybe the counterfeit line of investigation turned out to be wrong?

The connection between this and the 737 MAX is that both accidents may have had ties to dodgy parts form China.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

Yet another potentially lethal defect on the Boeing 737 Max – the engine inlets...

737 Max awaits engine inlet design fix to avert risk of severe damage from anti-ice

Boeing is undertaking design modification of the 737 Max engine inlet after discovering that use of engine anti-ice in certain operating conditions can result in failure of the inlet's inner barrel and substantial cowl damage. Operators must revise the aircraft's flight manual to instruct pilots...

www.flightglobal.com

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

NTSB Preliminary Report Alaska #1282 Door Plug Blowout​