Quality Control Problems Found at Douglas Plant

The Federal Aviation Administration has found serious quality control problems in passenger jet production at McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach, raising the prospect that the agency would halt the delivery of the firm’s aircraft if the deficiencies are not corrected, according to internal company documents.

The FAA found in an audit two months ago that the aerospace company was using out-of-date blueprints to build aircraft, had performed unauthorized repairs on aircraft and had poor control of parts on the factory floor, according to a Douglas memorandum obtained by The Times.

It also found workers using unapproved tools and performing unauthorized removal of parts from aircraft in production.

In a statement Wednesday, the FAA said that the deficiencies “pose no threat to flight safety.” But agency officials confirmed that they sent the firm’s Douglas Aircraft unit a letter of investigation that demands remedial action.

Douglas officials acknowledged Wednesday that they consider the audit findings serious. While company spokesmen said the agency is not near the point of lifting Douglas’ production certificate, the critical audit is only the latest in a series of setbacks for the financially troubled aerospace firm.

Oe Douglas scientist said the FAA audit findings, taken as a whole, suggest a troubling pattern of indiscipline at the firm. At worst, he said, they suggest “intellectual sloppiness.”

American Airlines, one of the firm’s most important commercial customers, declined to accept delivery of one of Douglas’ new MD-11 jetliners earlier this year, citing a number of deficiencies.

Douglas’ management has been attempting to recover from the turmoil created in 1989, when the entire management staff was dismissed and forced to reapply for its jobs as part of an upheaval in corporate culture.

Douglas recently has improved the pace of deliveries of its MD-80 jetliners and is entering a crucial phase this year of accelerated production of MD-11s. It is also attempting to recover from schedule delays on the Air Force C-17 cargo jet, which is supposed to make its first flight in June.

But the FAA audit findings suggest that the firm has not cured its fundamental problems yet.

Indeed, the firm’s efforts to instill a new corporate culture do not appear to have brought management in closer touch with the work force. The FAA found that Douglas management is “not involved” and that the company was characterized by a “lack of discipline to following processes and procedures.”

Said a Douglas spokesman on Wednesday: “Those are finding we take very seriously. They were certainly not as good as we would like to have seen.”

Douglas, the largest aircraft company in California, has 42,600 employees, including nearly 40,000 in the Southland. Members of its largest labor union, the United Auto Workers, have been working without a contract.

Indeed, the Douglas scientist questioned the extent to which management-union friction has exacerbated the quality control problems identified by the FAA. Contract negotiations have created a contentious atmosphere in the plant, he noted.

Under the FAA system, a series of administrative steps could ultimately lead to a lifting of the firm’s production certificate, a Douglas spokeswoman said. But the current investigation has not yet reached that stage, she added.

Nonetheless, government representatives knowledgeable about Douglas said the FAA audit findings mark a serious dispute between the FAA and the company.

The Douglas memorandum quoted the FAA as saying the audit made “significant findings.”

The memo added: “This is no joke; we either perform or FAA will: 1. pull DAC’s production ticket (unable to deliver aircraft) 2. impose financial penalty.”

The memo concludes with the slogan: “We must pass . . . it’s our future.”

The Douglas spokeswoman explained that the firm sought in the memo, which was used in employee briefings, to “come down hard” on itself.

“We wanted to stress to workers that they have to do it right,” she said.

The FAA audit, called a quality assurance system analysis review--or QASAR--was part of a regular agency program to periodically audit producers of commercial aircraft. The audit was performed from Jan. 22 to Feb. 8. The FAA is scheduled to return to Douglas April 22 to re-examine the firm.

Engineers at Douglas Aircraft have grumbled in the past about some of the deficiencies found by the FAA, particularly the problems with blueprints. Since the MD-80 and MD-11 jetliner programs are derivatives of programs more than two decades old, many of the blueprints are quite aged.

In addition, both aircraft have been subject to extensive modification and are offered to airlines in a variety of internal configurations, resulting in the use of a large number of blueprints. Some engineers have questioned whether Douglas can produce a set of blueprints that precisely describes each aircraft that it builds.

Like nuclear reactors, submarines and skyscrapers, large passenger jetliners must have precise blueprints in case later needs arise to modify or repair the aircraft.