Boeing halts Chinook production line
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/defense_chinook_051508/
Boeing Rotorcraft has tem****arily halted production of Chinook H-47
helicopters at its facility in Ridley Town****p, Pa., after manufacturing
irregularities were discovered in two aircraft, a company statement said.
“The process requires notification of Defense Contract Management
Agency. We notified them immediately and they will manage the
investigation. We have a process in place for this sort of
cir***stance,” said Jack Satterfield, V-22 Communications, Boeing
Rotorcraft Systems.
Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat and former Navy vice admiral whose district
includes the plant, said Wednesday he was told that wires that appeared
to be broken or severed were found in one helicopter and a suspicious
washer was found in a second.
There is a “low probability that it was not deliberate,” Sestak said,
but he added that unintentional damage remains a possibility. Sestak
said he has communicated with company and union officials at the plant
and was told the investigation could take two weeks.
Boeing officials would not comment on the nature of the irregularities
found or the expected timetable for resuming production. However, the
Boeing facility in Ridley Town****p has been maintaining a busy
production schedule.
“We’ve been delivering aircraft at the rate of about two a month on
average, and we are increasing that to three or four in the next few
years,” Satterfield said. “We’ve been modernizing F model Chinooks and
MH-47G models and building new CH-47 F-models as well.”
In a statement, Army officials said, "At present, this is thought to be
an isolated incident, confined to these two aircraft," and that normal
production is expected to resume shortly with no effect on the CH-47F
fielding schedule.
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