Originally Posted by
vilas View Post
There was a documentary by Al Zajeera on making of B737 800 in which Boeing workers had made serious allegations on NG fuselage which breaks on RW excursions.
Originally Posted by
AuroraAustralis
I've seen the documentary. It alleges that manufacturing defects are to blame to the break ups; I don't think that is the case, although those complaints should be heard and investigated, but it may be simply the way the 737 fuselage was designed in an era of different standards. I agree with the other posters that it is not fair to expect IX1344 to survive in one piece after going off the "cliff" (see TACA in 2008 or Pegasus this year). But take a look at history and there is an apparent trend.
The NG AMM was predicated on the application of CNC machining of critical parts, which happened to include the joints of the fuselage barrels, which were expected to reduce stress and cracking, giving improved maintenance overhead. 3 Boeing QA engineers audited the supplier of the joints, to find they were not using the CNC, there was none in the plant, and the units were being formed by hand. Boeing ended up sacking the QA engineers who reported the non-conforming manufacturing practice. FAA did nothing much. The litigation for unfair dismissal was about as effective as one would assume from individuals taking on a giant run by lawyers. About as effective as Roger Boisjoily trying to get justice for Challenger. That is the world we have, and under the pumpkin king, it is not getting better anytime soon.
a number of the fuselage breakups on impact have occurred in the area of the joint, a correlation of the supplier's non-compliant parts with MSN and bingles and tube integrity would be interesting, but as the WAWKI fell off a cliff this year, not sure it makes much difference in the end.