An internal investigation into undelivered Boeing 737 Max jets found dozens of the aircraft with debris in their fuel tanks.
The findings are a troubling sign for Boeing, an aviation industry giant that has been rattled by scandal. In late December, Boeing fired CEO Dennis Muilenburg over his failure to address quality concerns in the Boeing 737 Max after two planes crashed and killed more than 346 people.
“This is unacceptable and won’t be tolerated on any Boeing aircraft when it’s delivered to the customer,” said a statement from Boeing released on Saturday.
Boeing found the debris in about 35 of its new 737 Max jets during maintenance on parked planes, the company said according to Reuters, and confirmed in a memo that the debris could be a potential safety risk. The Federal Aviation Administration said it knew Boeing was doing a voluntary inspection of the planes, but could not confirm specific numbers.
“We are taking steps to make sure we eliminate FOD (foreign object debris) from any and all aircraft,” the statement added. More of the planes still need to be inspected.
President Trump grounded the planes in March of last year, and investigations into the planes revealed a November 2018 FAA report in which the agency said it expected the fleet to have one fatal crash every two to three years, a stark increase from other models.
In October 2019, documents given to the House Transportation Committee showed internal concern about the plane’s anti-stalling system as early as 2015. Boeing employees claimed that pilots only had 10 seconds to react to a failure in the anti-stall system or face “catastrophic” consequences.
On Friday, the New York Times reported that federal prosecutors are investigating whether the company misled officials at the FAA during its process to approve the 737 jets.
