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U.S. Army Grounds Upgraded Boeing Copters on Inspection Doubts

U.S. Army Grounds Upgraded Boeing Copters on Inspection Doubts

The U.S. Army has grounded 12 upgraded Apache AH-64 helicopters while it conducts a review of quality procedures at a Boeing Co. plant after the contractor alerted the service to improperly performed inspections, according to officials.

A technician who has since been dismissed “failed to perform required process control checks that ensure testing equipment functions properly and provides reliable results,” according to an Army document sent to Congress that was obtained by Bloomberg News. “As a result, this employee’s inspection results cannot be trusted for accuracy.”

Boeing is re-inspecting all suspect components at the plant in Mesa, Arizona, and so far one failed a re-test, according to the Army. It said Boeing “continues to research data archives to determine the full extent of the problem” and “to date, Boeing stated that at least 12 AH-64E remanufactured aircraft were delivered” with suspect components. The Army sait it has grounded them. None of them were for foreign customers.

Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher said in a statement that “we recently discovered improper record-keeping for some parts inspections conducted at our Mesa facility” by an employee who’s no longer with the company. “As part of our commitment to transparency, we quickly disclosed the situation” and started an investigation, he said.

He said the company will “remove and replace parts at no cost” to the Army.

Past Issue

The improperly performed inspections took place from August 2018 through mid-September 2020, according to the service. The problem, coming after a halt in deliveries in 2018 over a rotor-system component issue, indicates that “the Boeing–Mesa facility requires intense government investigation into quality control and process compliance,” the Army document said.

The service said it will conduct “government-led investigations” to “assess if quality deficiencies are localized or are indicative of more systemic issues.”

Blecher of Boeing said, “We are working with the Army on a comprehensive review of our quality-management system in Mesa and a root-cause, corrective-action plan.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.