Report: Boeing Unit May Have Cut Parts Tests
A Boeing subsidiary may have curtailed testing of high-tech nuts and bolts destined for use in the new Air Force B-2 stealth bomber in order to save money, according to a published report Sunday.
The supplier of those nuts and bolts is now under investigation, suspected of supplying substandard parts stamped as approved by a fictitious “Inspector 11.”
The Seattle Times reported that an internal memo declared that Boeing Advanced Systems had the testing of incoming fasteners curtailed just as a federal task force began an investigation into fraud in the aerospace fastener industry. Only “suspect” parts would be tested, the memo stated.
Among the parts that may have escaped routine testing by Boeing were high-tech titanium nuts and bolts manufactured by a Chatsworth company called Voi-Shan, a division of Fairchild Industries, the newspaper said.
Titanium Fasteners
Boeing Advanced Systems in Seattle uses Voi-Shan nuts and bolts. Boeing is manufacturing classified parts for the Stealth bomber, made by Northrop Corp.
Two weeks ago, 20 federal agents armed with search warrants seized 52 crates of documents, test equipment and fasteners in a raid on Voi-Shan, the newspaper said.
The agents were searching for evidence to support allegations made by three past and present Voi-Shan workers that no testing was done on the fasteners, but the fasteners were given approved by a fictitious “Inspector 11.”
The Times said tests done on high-performance titanium fasteners, used to hold together everything from engines to airframes, were of particular concern.
The newspaper also obtained Boeing and Voi-Shan shipping documents that stated in the week before the raid Boeing Advanced Systems received two shipments of more than 200 Voi-Shan titanium fasteners, with test reports certified by “Inspector 11.”
The Times, quoting an unidentified source, said those parts were only two of many similar shipments designated for the B-2 project last year.
According to a Feb. 18, 1988, memo obtained by the newspaper, a quality-control manager at Boeing Advanced Systems ordered the routine testing of incoming shipments of some fasteners stopped, apparently to save money.
The memo said the company expected to save $53,000 by reducing testing from March to October last year.
Boeing spokesman Paul Binder confirmed that the memo was legitimate, but declined further comment on it or the B-2 program.
