Boeing says new 737 Max flaw will slow airplane deliveries

boeing Boeing said a new manufacturing flaw in its 737 Max would delay deliveries of its best-selling plane, the latest blow as the company tries to deliver more planes.

The company said it found that fastener holes on the rear pressure bulkheads of nearly 737 aircraft were improperly drilled. Spirit Aerosystems, which makes the fuselage, said that because it “uses multiple suppliers for the rear pressure bulkhead, only a few units are affected.”

“This problem will impact 737 deliveries in the near future as we conduct inspections to determine the number of airplanes affected, and complete the necessary work on those airplanes,” Boeing said. It will continue to deliver 737 MAX that are not affected by the problem.

This bug is the latest string of manufacturing Drawbacks Boeing has revealed at Max and other events that it is trying to ramp up production to meet strong demand from airlines that are short of planes for travel. boom, Last month, the company had said it was transitioning to a production rate of 31 to 38 per month.

Boeing did not say whether the new issue would change that Forecast To deliver 400 to 450 Max jets this year.

Spirit Aerosystems said it would continue to supply fuselages to Boeing.

“We are working closely with our customers to address any affected units within the production system and to address any necessary rework,” Spirit Aerosystems said in a statement. “Based on what we know now, we believe this issue will not have a significant impact on our delivery range for the year in question.”

Through July this year, Boeing handed over 309 aircraft In the same period, 381 rival Airbus aircraft were delivered to customers.

The company had reported this issue earlier air stream, was not related to flight safety and airlines can continue to fly the aircraft. Boeing said it has notified the Federal Aviation Administration.

Boeing shares were down about 1% in premarket trading on Thursday.