Flawed parts made for Boeing threatened plane safety, Italian prosecutors find
By Francesca Landini
MILAN, Oct 7 (Reuters) -Investigators have found that two Italian sub-contractors used cheaper and non-compliant forms of titanium and aluminium to make certain parts for Boeing's BA.N 787 Dreamliner, saving significant sums of money and threatening plane safety, prosecutors said on Saturday.
Below are details of the investigation:
HOW IT STARTED
The investigation by prosecutors in southern Italy started in late 2021 after Boeing said some titanium parts for its plane, supplied by sub-contractors for state-controlled aerospace and defence group Leonardo LDOF.MI, had been improperly manufactured over the previous three years.
PROBE OUTCOME
Investigators found that two Italian sub-contractors used pure titanium instead of the prescribed titanium alloy, as well as aluminium alloys different from those prescribed to make even structural components of the aircraft.
BOEING LAUNCHED EXTRAORDINARY MAINTENANCE CAMPAIGN
The probe concluded that some non-compliant structural components could, in the long run, undermine the safety of the aircraft, prompting Boeing to launch an extraordinary maintenance campaign on the aircraft involved.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have helped Italy's finance police and prosecutors. Leonardo and Boeing cooperated actively to identify the non-compliant components.
WHO DID WHAT?
Italian prosecutors accused seven people and two sub-contractors of crimes including fraud and breaching airplane safety rules, without naming the sub-contractors or the seven people.
Two sources told Reuters that at the centre of the probe are family-owned Manufacturing Process Specification and its now-bankrupt predecessor company Processi Speciali.
MPS owner Antonio Ingrosso and his father Vincenzo, who headed Processi Speciali, are two of the seven people involved in the probe, the sources said. The two men are "convinced that they have acted respecting fully the law," their lawyer told Reuters.
NON-COMPLIANT AIRPLANE PARTS
Processi Speciali and then MPS supplied parts for sections 44 and 46 of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's fuselage, which are built by Leonardo in southern Italy.
Court documents had said MPS and its predecessor used to supply Leonardo with fittings that helped secure the floor beam in one fuselage section, as well as other fittings, spacers, brackets and clips for a cargo door frame.
Both Leonardo and Boeing dropped MPS from their suppliers' lists after the probe started.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The people and companies accused by the prosecutors will be given time to present any new evidence in their defence, before the prosecutors decide whether to request a judge to call a trial.
Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Rod Nickel
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
