THE Federal Aviation Administration (F) has informed Boeing that hundreds of 737s are vulnerable to in-flight damage due to faulty wing parts, reports New York's FreightWaves.

'The affected parts may be susceptible to premature failure or cracks resulting from the improper manufacturing process,' the F said.



'Although a complete failure of a leading-edge slat track would not result in the loss of the aircraft, a risk remains that a failed part could lead to aircraft damage in flight,' said the F.



Following an investigation conducted by Boeing and the F's Certificate Management Office, it was determined that 737 MAX and 737 NG aircraft may have been affected by improperly manufactured slat assemblies within the wings and may not meet federal standards.



The F identified up to 148 parts manufactured by a Boeing 'sub-tier supplier'. The agency said Boeing used serial numbers to identify aircraft on which the suspect parts may have been installed, including 32 NG and 33 MAX aircraft in the US and 133 NG and 179 MAX aircraft in the worldwide fleet.



Said Boeing: 'We are now staging replacement parts at customer bases to help minimise aircraft downtime while the work is completed. Once the new parts are in hand, the replacement work should take one to two days. Boeing will also issue a safety service bulletin outlining the steps to take during the inspections.'



The F said it will issue an Airworthiness Directive mandating Boeing's service actions to identify and remove the parts and will require airlines with affected aircraft to service the planes within 10 days.


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