Federal suit claims Spirit AeroSystems concealed serious defects to maximize production

Officials at Spirit AeroSystems disregarded safety concerns raised by former employees and instructed them to undercount defects they found on plane fuselages, a federal lawsuit alleges.

The Wichita manufacturing giant sustained its latest round of negative attention when it was identified as the Boeing supplier responsible for producing and installing the door plug that blew off of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX mid-flight, forcing an emergency landing on Jan. 5.

Less than a month before the faulty plug left a gaping hole in the fuselage of the plane, documents were filed in federal court alleging “widespread quality problems at Spirit.”

The class action lawsuit is brought by Spirit shareholders who say they suffered financial damage when company stock lost value after officials misrepresented company operations and withheld information about quality control issues.

Although door plug manufacturing defects are not specifically mentioned in the suit, it does cite the routine presence of foreign object debris in Spirit products, missing fasteners, peeling paint, and poor skin quality.

“Such constant quality failures resulted in part from Spirit’s culture which prioritized production numbers and short-term financial outcomes over product quality,” the complaint states.

Spirit has not yet filed a response in court. In a written statement provided to The Eagle, the company pushed back against accusations of wrongdoing.

“Spirit strongly disagrees with the assertions made by plaintiffs in the amended complaint and intends to vigorously defend against the claims. Spirit will not comment further as to the pending litigation.”

Court filings cite the experiences of former employees who say they were threatened and thwarted when they attempted to alert their superiors to defects.

In 2022, quality auditor Joshua Dean identified mis-drilled holes on a 737 MAX aft pressure bulkhead, which plays a critical role in maintaining cabin pressure during flight. According to the suit, Dean filed a written report to his manager and alerted multiple supervisors, but Spirit concealed the defect from Boeing and investors until it was revealed in independent reporting 10 months later.

Dean was fired in April 2023 after continuing to raise concerns about defects, the complaint alleges.

A separate quality inspector who is not identified by name filed an ethics complaint outlining “the excessive amount of defects” that he and his team had identified, noting that they were instructed to misreport the numbers of defects in a way “which would be falsifying the documentation.”

A third quality auditor, also unnamed, is quoted as saying “auditors repeatedly found torque wrenches in mechanics’ toolboxes that were not properly calibrated.”

“This was potentially a serious problem, as a torque wrench that is out of calibration may not torque fasteners to the correct levels, resulting in over tightening or under-tightening that could threaten the structural integrity of the parts in question,” the complaint states.

According to multiple former employees cited in court filings, Boeing placed Spirit on probation between 2018 and 2021 due to persistent quality control issues.

Spirit did not respond directly to an Eagle inquiry asking whether the company was indeed placed on probation, providing only the written statement responding to the lawsuit.

Former Spirit CEO Tom Gentile, who resigned his post in October, and current CFO Mark Suchinski are listed as co-defendants in the class action lawsuit.

This story was originally published January 13, 2024 at 7:41 AM.