Airbus has alerted customers that hundreds of its A320neo family jets will need to be inspected for potential structural defects linked to faulty manufacturing techniques at a supplier.
Most of the jets — some 460 airframes — are in Airbus’s manufacturing system in some fashion and haven’t yet been delivered to customers, Airbus told A320 customers last week. Another 168 of the airplanes are in-service, according to a presentation viewed by Bloomberg. In total, the universe of aircraft that have to undergo checks stands at 628, according to the presentation.
Of the total number of planes possibly affected, 168 are already in service, while 245 are on the final assembly line or being prepared for delivery. Another 215 are in the early stages of production.Credit: AP
The affected jets exterior skins may be either too thin or too thick in comparison to Airbus’s manufacturing specifications, due to variability in the milling process, according to the presentation. The checks are so wide because the panels don’t have serial numbers, making them harder to trace.
The panels at issue are on the crown of the A320 and adjacent on either side to the main front door. While the inspections are relatively straightforward and non-invasive, they’ll need to be done on all of the planes since the bad batch of parts isn’t traceable via serial number, said a person familiar with the matter.
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Of the total number of planes possibly affected, 168 are already in service, while 245 are on the final assembly line or being prepared for delivery. Another 215 are in the early stages of production. Airbus said in the presentation that a “significant proportion” of panels will conform, and will therefore be acceptable in their current state.
“The source of the issue has been identified, contained and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements,” an Airbus spokesperson said.
It represents the latest challenge for the planemaker after a weekend recall of its jets due to a software issue that led to thousands of jets being grounded across the world.
The company’s shares fell as much as 10 per cent on Monday before closing 5.8 per cent lower.
