A new quality issue has emerged on the troubled Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
Supplier Spirit AeroSystems said there’s an issue with elongated fastener holes on the aft pressure bulkhead. Spirit said it has multiple suppliers for the bulkhead, so only some units are affected.
Spirit said “based on what we know now, we believe there will not be a material impact to our delivery range for the year related to this issue.” The publication Air Current however said the company is at a minimum planning for near-term delivery delays.
“At this point, it’s early days on both the near and long-term financial impacts of the issue, but it appears the fix is likely to take several weeks for completed aircraft, which likely puts pressure on Boeing’s delivery forecast for the year,” said Jason Gursky, an analyst at Citi.
Boeing has determined there is no immediate safety issues with the aircraft, Spirit said. Boeing did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
The 737 Max was grounded after deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, before a flight prohibition order was lifted in Nov. 2020.
In premarket trade on Wednesday, Boeing stock BA, -0.65% fell 2%, and Spirit AeroSystems stock SPR, -0.09% slumped 6%.