BOEING’S CHINOOK

[factanonverba]

BOEING’S CHINOOK ASSEMBLY LINE SHUTS DOWN

This is the latest on this situation from the Ottawa Citizen’s wire service, Reuters.

Boeing halts rotorcraft output after debris found

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co shut down production at a military helicopter plant outside Philadelphia Friday after a third incident involving foreign objects prompted the Pentagon to issue a corrective action against the company.

Boeing spokesman John Williamson said the company received the notice from the Pentagon’s Defense Contracts Management Agency (DCMA) Friday, which means the government will not accept any aircraft manufactured at the plant until certain requirements are met.

Boeing produces its CH-47 Chinook helicopters and MH-47G Special Operations Chinook the at the plant, as well as the fuselages for the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft that it builds with Textron Inc’s Bell Helicopter unit.

“It’s a serious matter and we are taking it very seriously,” Williamson said, in response to a query about the government’s action. He said Boeing had halted production at the plant until the company was able to determine how the foreign object debris had gotten into the V-22 fuselage.

He said the latest incident was discovered by Boeing during a quality inspection this week. Williamson gave no details on what object had been found, but such cases often involve tools, stray pieces of wire or protective coatings that wind up where they should not be. “The Level IV CAR (corrective action request) means that the government will not accept aircraft from this facility until we have satisfied their requirements,” he said.

Williamson said Boeing workers at the plant were expected to report to work, despite the production halt. He said Boeing was working with the Pentagon to correct the problem, but it was unclear when the production line would be reopened. He said an investigation was underway to determine if the latest incident involved any deliberate sabotage.

One individual was arrested and convicted of deliberately placing foreign objects in an H-47 helicopter in May, Williamson said.

Defense analyst Loren Thompson said the incident was troubling and raised questions about deliberate sabotage. “There clearly is a pattern of foreign objects and material intruding into Boeing’s rotorcraft process,” said Thompson, chief operating officer of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute. “I was actually in that plant a few months ago and, like other defense plants, it is extremely neat and clean, so these sorts of things don’t usually happen by accident. You have to consider the possibility that someone is doing this deliberately.”

 

[Lunatik]

Seriously, what foreign objects are they talking about? I hope this is not going to affect the production schedule of the 10 CH-47s Turkey recently purchased for its army heavy-lift requirement.

Luv this beast. :smil:

 

[rock45]

plastic cap

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., said Friday he was told by a Boeing executive that a plastic cap was found in the fuel line of a V-22 Osprey fuselage and that Boeing could not immediately rule it out as a willful act. Mills said Saturday that he had read Sestak's comments in news reports but could not confirm them.

Boeing investigates after Pa. plant shutdown

The Associated Press November 22, 2008, 4:21PM ET

PHILADELPHIA
A Boeing plant in suburban Philadelphia remained shut down Saturday while officials investigated how a foreign object ended up inside an aircraft that was under production.
Boeing spokesman Damien Mills said he could not predict how long it would take before production could resume at the Ridley Park plant, which shut down Friday afternoon. He said employees are instructed to show up for work as usual.
"There are other tasks the workers can participate in while production is halted," Mills said. Those tasks vary, but include things like generating ideas to prevent similar problems from developing in the future, he said.
Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., said Friday he was told by a Boeing executive that a plastic cap was found in the fuel line of a V-22 Osprey fuselage and that Boeing could not immediately rule it out as a willful act. Mills said Saturday that he had read Sestak's comments in news reports but could not confirm them.
The same factory was shut down in May when a disgruntled employee used his work-issued wire cutters to sever about 70 electrical wires in a nearly finished military helicopter. The man pleaded guilty in September to one count of destroying property under contract to the government.


LINK
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D94K7HJG0.htm

 

[factanonverba]

Thank rock45 for found this one that wasn't very clear about foreign object but that made more sense. Canada purchase 16x CH-47F who are supposed to be delivered and operational function in 2011 but due of the shutdown we receive our CH-47F only in july 2011 when that suposed to be in may 2011.

 

[rock45]

This one helicopter has a major effect on how a couple of different armies can operate on the battle field. I hope more is done to safe guard production soldiers life's depend it.

 

[A Can of Man]

I'm sure that person was thinking he was like the Jews in forced labor camps in Nazi Germany. Unfortunately he doesn't realize that a) he isn't forced to work there b) his type of people aren't being exterminated.