A Boeing 737 MAX 8 sits outside the hangar during a Boeing 737 MAX media tour at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington, December 8, 2015. REUTERS / Matt Mills McKnight / File Photo
An electrical problem that has led to the suspension of dozens of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft has spread after engineers found similar ground defects elsewhere in the cabin, industry sources said on Friday.
Airlines shut down dozens of MAX aircraft a week ago after Boeing Co (BA.N) warned of an electrical grounding problem in a backup power control unit located in the cockpit on some newly built planes. Read more
Since then, suspected grounding problems have been found in two other places on the flight deck, sources said.
These include the storage shelf in which the affected control unit is kept and the pilot-oriented instrument panel.
Boeing had no immediate comment on the larger issue, which was first reported by Aviation Week. (https://bit.ly/3mT210Y)
Boeing shares closed 1.2%.
The issue – which affects about a fifth of MAX aircraft on the market – is the latest issue to hit the best-selling Boeing model, but it is not related to design issues that have contributed to a global safety ban of 20 months after two fatal accidents.
Boeing is expected to develop bulletins advising airlines on how to address grounding or electrical problems designed to maintain safety in the event of a surge.
US regulators must first approve the bulletins.
While most analysts say the solution is expected to be relatively straightforward, no details were immediately available on the timing of the repair reports needed to begin work on about 90 aircraft affected by the suspension.
The planner initially told airlines that a repair could take several hours or days on the plane, according to a notification seen by Reuters when the partial suspension was first announced.
The problem was followed by a change in the material layer, once the production of the 737 MAX was resumed last year.
Almost all the affected planes were built before the resumption of MAX deliveries in December, shortly after US regulators lifted the fleet-level ban caused by the 2018 and 2019 accidents.
Boeing said it plans to gradually increase production of the 737 MAX from an unspecified current “low rate” to a target of 31 aircraft per month by early 2022. Industry sources estimate that it currently produces about four aircraft per month.
Airline sources say Boeing has not delivered any MAX aircraft since the electrical problem was identified last week.
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