Back to Squawk list
  • 31

Air Force again halts KC-46 deliveries after more debris found

تم الإرسال
 
After resuming deliveries, the Air Force has once again stopped accepting them due to contamination (www.airforcetimes.com) المزيد...

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]


Bhughestc
Bill Hughes 8
Never Attribute to Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained by Stupidity
grindstaff
Jeff Grindstaff 5
I was an airframe repair guy in the AF a lot of years ( and gray hairs) ago.

My unit took delivery of a shiny new KC-10. After a while, the Crew Chief was doing some work in the Boomer’s station and removed a panel. A large assembly beneath the seat was held together with Klecos, and the Kleco wrench was right beside it.
bentwing60
bentwing60 1
clecos are installed and removed with pliers. fact or fiction, good story anyway. and thanks for your service.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=cleco+pliers&t=brave&ia=images
grindstaff
Jeff Grindstaff 1
Klecos are indeed installed with Kleco pliers or Kleco wrench as my shop chief used to call them.
You are welcome for my service.
bentwing60
bentwing60 3
One might infer that these events are not accidental and unions don't have short term memories. Corporate move to chicago, 2001. Opening of the first non union plant in SC 2011. KC-46 production, Everett. This sort of shoddy workmanship has never been a Boeing hallmark and is orchestrated to some degree, as the sign offs from DERs is required before the closure of inspection/access panels before roll out and ops. tests. these guys ain't leavin a torque wrench in the doorway.
mikewixted
mikewixted 3
That statement is a complete load of rubbish. No professional aerospace worker, unionized or not would engage in intentionally poor workmanship in hopes of harming the company's management for previous decisions. You are simply spouting off without knowledge or understanding of federal contracting laws and the serious legal (civil and criminal) liabilities that would attach to anyone engaged in purposeful sabotage.
Y2KRene
Rene Kunz 1
"No professional aerospace worker, unionized or not would engage in "intentionally" poor workmanship"??
Unqualified, unskilled and unreliable workers are generally accountable for poor workmanship, unionized or not! I've been there (in the high tech manufacturing industry) and seen it all.
Have perhaps the hiring practices (engineering and aerospace workers)by Boeing being relaxed since 2000??
wd73383
WD Rseven -2
As said by a union lackey
RRKen
Kenneth Schmidt 0
I believe you are suggesting these employees have conspired to committed acts of sabotage. If that is true, it is a violation of the Federal Sabotage Statute.

This is not some local slap on the hands, but a major Felony. And to be honest, one could suggest that as a result of any Federal investigation, it would focus on everyone from the people on the line, to their Supervisors and Managers (who one could infer were responsible for the quality of the work), and acted in concert to sabotage to these aircraft whether knowingly or otherwise.

Or do these line employees work unsupervised without audit?
RRKen
Kenneth Schmidt -4
Perhaps you are also inferring that these were acts of Treason? After all, it was directed at a Government entity.
bentwing60
bentwing60 4
My knowledge of the issues are based solely on the reported events, and the comment,ergo based partially on speculation. I'm not sure what your hyperbolic suggestions are based on, the article, my comment, or your knowledge of the reported events. All could in fact be true. In my now ever cynical world,regardless who is ultimately responsible, no one will be prosecuted and the delays will stand without recompense. And another dent in Boeings once untarnished image. So you come up with a supposition as opposed to inspector general what ifs. Because my last two sentences yield pretty solidly acknowledged facts.
RRKen
Kenneth Schmidt 1
My comment was based on what you said. That the FOD which was discovered (events) was "not accidental" in your words. That it was "orchestrated", again, your words.

To me, that means it was intentional. To me, that means a party, or parties got together and created the situation.
jbqwik
jbqwik 4
KS, bent wing was making a reasonable comment. What, you don't believe that sort of thing has happened in the past? Resentment takes many forms and retribution that follows is not always logical, fair or legal.
RRKen
Kenneth Schmidt 2
Well, other than a passenger, I have no stake in the game. But in reading his comment, I had to wonder if there was intentional acts involved, or more.

Such actions may have happened in the past, I was perhaps too lazy to research it, much less consider it.

But there has to be a concern that this kind of activity could ever happen to a piece of machinery which has any potential of harming others. Considering that, and hearing the words intentional and orchestrated, it has to raise an eyebrow.
bsampson
Bill Sampson 1
Come on Mikewing60, Your thinking is so idealistic "no aerospace worker would" with all that's been going on in the world can you really say that with 100% accuracy. I too would love to believe no one would intentionally do poor work.... but....the reality is sadly, this is not the world we live in today.
jbqwik
jbqwik 2
I don't know who you're referring to, but, I agree on principle; it's common sense that *any group of employees / employers is not 100% reliable, honest and perfect. To think otherwise is simply naive.

As example, mine was a two-man job: A "lead" and a "secondary". The secondary's sole function was to keep the primary focused. When I was the acting Lead I made mistakes, from simple human error to simply being human; taking shortcuts when tired or frustrated. Fortunately most of my crap work was caught by the secondary. But not always...
paulgilpin1953
paul gilpin 1
is the Boz leaving nuts & bolts in the door compartments again?
dav555
dav555 0
I have always been a fan of Boeing. They have produced some of the best aircraft in the world and done it without huge government subsidies. However, it seems that quality has taken a hit lately what with the 737Max problems and the KC46. Then there were the 787 problems like the multi-year delays and faulty batteries. All the while Airbus has released the A350 and A330NEOs with relatively few problems. Boeing executives had better wake up.
ljcotnoir
Leo Cotnoir -1
Between 2013 and 2105, Boeing had received $13.4B in government subsidies from Washington State alone. Within the past decade, the company has received more than $64B in US government subsidies. Boeing has chronically been in violation of WTO rules on subsidies. And don't forget that the technology that went into the 707 was paid for by the USAF for the B-52. Boeing is one of the biggest piggies at the government teat.
dav555
dav555 0
Oh, forgot to mention Airbus' A32x NEOs which are pretty darn popular.
stratofan
stratofan -6
It sounds like the dwellers of their parents basements are in fine form today. Airbus apologists are quick to forget the American Airlines A-300 that had the tail fall off over NYC a few years ago. Where were the rabid kennel dwellers then with torch and pitchfork in hand? I guess mad conspiracy theorists have nothing better to do with their time. A person takes a chance everyday when they venture out of their home and face the odds of someone driving while being on their phone TOTALLY distracted from the task at hand. I will take my chances in the air anyday over the highway. Meanwhile, remain in your caverns if you feel safer there and troll the web 24/7.
ljcotnoir
Leo Cotnoir 4
The A300 crash in NYC was ruled to have been the result of improper rudder use. In any case, that model aircraft is not almost exclusively used in freight operations. About the only similarity between an A300 and the current generation of Airbus products is the "A3" in their names.
kd7eir
Jim Myers -6
This is a company that INTENTIONALLY left critical information out of their aircraft manuals and training that resulted in two airline crashes. If you think they are not too lazy to properly inspect a plane before delivery you are delusional.

The only "conspiracy" here is that Boeing, since "buying" the FAA, has decided that they do not need to follow ANY path of actual responsible behavior.

ronash13
Ron Nash 0
The FOD problems are more likely related to a poor choice of the employees being used to build, weak management with poor relationship skills, and older, highly experienced Boeing employees retiring, leading to skills loss.
This is not a new problem in factories, or when large groups of people are being organised to work together effectively with good morale.
Allied WW2 production was littered with dangerous production errors and a lack of QC.
Toyota Motor Co "took their eye off the ball" in the early 2000's, and paid accordingly, with a substantial drop in Toyota's previously highly-esteemed level of build quality.
Now Toyota have found they have a need to bring back retired engineers to ensure their famous build quality is kept up to the mark.
Some senior Boeing managers need to read "Staying Power" - the book that describes how the Japanese pursuit of attention to detail and perfection, has made them world leaders in manufacturing of virtually every product.
The trouble with Boeing is, it's simply got fat and lazy. It needs Japanese "leanness" installed into it. That's the problem when you're the biggest of the biggest, and you have little competition.

bentwing60
bentwing60 2
So, why does this apply only to the KC46? I concur with most of your contentions and Toyota was a good analogy but applied all across their production line. Seems to me the effect of this has singled out a military contract that they feel will not rouse the ire of the lemmings that traipse on and off the commercial aircraft daily. Never mind that it seems at the expense of the men and women of the U.S.military who routinely sacrifice for the convenience of said lemmings to traipse on and off the commercial aircraft daily.
travelcoord
andi nachman 1

تسجيل الدخول

ليس لديك حساب؟ سجل الآن (مجانا) لتستمع بمميزات مخصصة، وتنبيهات الرحلات، وغير ذلك الكثير!
هل علمت بأن خاصية تتبع الرحلة التابعة لـFlightAware مدعومة بواسطة الإعلانات؟
يمكنك مساعدتنا بالإبقاء على موقع FlightAware مجاني بدون مقابل من خلال السماح بالإعلانات من موقع FlightAware.com. نحن نعمل بكل كد لجعل إعلاناتنا ملائمة ومناسبة وأن تكون هذه الإعلانات غير ملحوظة من أجل إنشاء تجربة رائعة. يمكن بكل سرعة وسهولة السماح لـإعلانات القائمة البيضاء الموجودة على FlightAware، أو الرجاء مراجعة الحسابات المميزة الخاصة بنا.
استبعد