FAA investigates how questionable titanium got into Boeing and Airbus jets

Some of Boeing and Airbus’ recently manufactured jets contain titanium components that were sold with fake documents confirming the authenticity of the material, according to a supplier to the aircraft manufacturers, raising doubts about the structural integrity of these planes.

The forged documents are currently being investigated by Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier of aircraft fuselages for Boeing and wings for Airbus, and by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The investigation began after a supplier discovered small holes in the material caused by corrosion.

In a statement, the FAA said it is investigating the extent of the problem and trying to determine the short- and long-term safety impacts on aircraft made with these parts. It is unclear how many aircraft have parts made from the questionable material.

“Boeing reported a voluntary disclosure to the FAA regarding the procurement of materials by a vendor that may have falsified or provided false documentation,” the statement said. “Boeing has issued a bulletin outlining how suppliers should be alert to the potential for falsified documentation.”

The revelation comes at a time when Boeing and the wider aviation industry are under intense scrutiny, rocked by a series of mishaps and safety issues. In January, a door panel was ripped off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet in flight, sparking several federal investigations. In April, Boeing notified the FAA of another incident involving potentially falsified inspection records for the wings of 787 Dreamliners. Boeing told the FAA that the company may have missed required inspections of the jet’s wings and will need to re-inspect some of the Dreamliners still in production.

On May 30, Boeing submitted a plan to the FAA outlining planned safety improvements and committed to weekly meetings with the agency. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday about the company’s safety problems.

The use of possibly counterfeit titanium, which has not been previously reported, threatens to extend the industry’s problems beyond Boeing to European rival Airbus. The planes containing components made of the material were built between 2019 and 2023, including some Boeing 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner aircraft, as well as Airbus A220 jets, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. It is not clear how many of these planes are in service or which airlines own them.

Spirit is trying to determine where the titanium came from, whether it meets applicable standards despite the falsified documentation, and whether the parts made from the material are structurally strong enough to last the expected life of the jets, company officials said. Spirit said it is trying to determine the most efficient way to remove and replace the affected parts, should that become necessary.

“This is about counterfeit, fake and counterfeit documents,” said Joe Buccino, a spokesman for Spirit. “When we discovered that the counterfeit titanium had entered the supply chain, we immediately contained all suspected parts to determine the extent of the problems.”

According to Spirit, the titanium in question was used in a number of aircraft parts. On the 787 Dreamliner, these are the passenger door, the cargo hold doors and a component that connects the engines to the airframe. On the 737 Max and the A220, these include heat shields that protect a component that connects a jet’s engines to the airframe from extreme heat.

Boeing and Airbus both said their tests of the affected materials had so far shown no signs of problems.

Boeing said it purchased most of the titanium needed to produce its aircraft directly, so its supply was largely unaffected.

“This industry-wide issue affects some titanium shipments delivered to a limited number of suppliers, and testing to date has shown that the correct titanium alloy was used,” Boeing said in a statement. “To ensure compliance, we are removing all affected parts from airplanes prior to delivery. Our analysis indicates that the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely.”

Airbus also stressed that “the A220 remains airworthy.”

“Numerous tests have been carried out on parts from the same source,” an Airbus spokeswoman said in a statement, adding: “The safety and quality of our aircraft are our top priority and we work closely with our supplier.”

The European Aviation Safety Agency said in a statement that it had launched an investigation into the material after learning of the traceability problems from its Italian counterparts. A spokesman for the agency said the investigation was ongoing and had so far found no evidence of an immediate safety problem.

“However, the agency will continue to investigate the root cause of the document traceability issue and will continue to closely monitor any new developments that could lead to a potentially unsafe state of the fleet,” the statement said.

Spirit has struggled with quality issues and financial difficulties in recent years and came under renewed scrutiny this year following the January incident involving the door panel of the 737 Max, whose fuselage the company manufactures.

The problem illustrates the complex global supply chain involved in manufacturing modern commercial aircraft, and the story of what appears to have gone wrong involves companies in China, Italy, Turkey and the United States.

The problem appears to date back to 2019, when a Turkish materials supplier, Turkish Aerospace Industries, bought a batch of titanium from a supplier in China, according to people familiar with the matter. The Turkish company then sold the titanium to several companies that make aircraft parts, and those parts made their way to Spirit, which used them in Boeing and Airbus planes.

In December 2023, an Italian company purchasing titanium from Turkish Aerospace Industries noticed that the material looked different than what the company usually received. The company, Titanium International Group, also noted that the certificates that came with the titanium did not appear to be authentic.

Turkish Aerospace Industries did not respond to a request for comment.

Spirit began investigating the matter and told Boeing and Airbus in January that it could not verify the origin of the titanium used to make certain parts. Titanium International Group told Spirit that it had no idea the records had been falsified when it purchased the material in 2019, Spirit officials said.

Francesca Conti, general manager of Titanium International Group, said the incident was under investigation and she could not provide further details. “We are working with the relevant authorities to resolve any issue that eventually arises,” she said in an email.

The documents in question are so-called certificates of conformity. They serve as a kind of birth certificate for the titanium and describe its quality, its manufacture and its origin, Spirit representatives said.

People familiar with the situation said it appears an employee of the Chinese company that sold the titanium falsified the information on the certificates. He wrote that the material came from another Chinese company, Baoji Titanium Industry, a company that often supplies verified titanium. Baoji Titanium later confirmed that it did not supply the titanium. The origin of the titanium remains unclear.

“Baoji Titanium has no knowledge of the company and has no business relationship with the company,” the company said in a statement to the New York Times.

Without knowing where the material came from and how it was handled, it is impossible to verify the airworthiness of the parts, said Gregg Brown, Spirit’s senior vice president of global quality.

“Our quality management process relies on the traceability of raw materials from the factories,” said Brown. “In this process, traceability has been lost and there are problems with documentation.”

Spirit officials said they have begun testing titanium parts to ensure that aircraft-grade material was used. The company is testing components that are still in stock and in undelivered fuselages.

So far, Spirit’s testing has confirmed that the titanium is of a quality suitable for aircraft manufacturers. However, the company has not been able to confirm that the titanium has been treated in accordance with the approved aircraft manufacturing process. The material has passed some of the material tests performed, but failed others.

Mr. Buccino, the Spirit spokesman, said the company was working with customers to identify the affected planes. Planes already in service are being monitored by airlines and, if warranted, taken out of service earlier than usual, he said. More likely, the affected parts would be removed as part of routine maintenance checks, regardless of whether the titanium is OK.

Olivia Wang reported from Hong Kong. Kitty Bennett made a research contribution.