Counterfeit Titanium Found in Boeing and Airbus Airplanes. Discovery Launches FAA Investigation

The cockpit of an Airbus A350
New planes from the two world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, were made with components that have counterfeit titanium, according to a statement made by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The discovery came after aircraft component parts used in recently manufactured planes from the two companies were found to be peppered with small holes due to the use of the counterfeit material.
The FAA said on Friday that it was investigating the matter and trying to determine the short- and long-term safety implications to planes that were made using the counterfeit parts.
The material, which appears to have been purchased from a little-known Chinese company, was sold to both Boeing and Airbus separately, using falsified documents.. It was then used in parts that went into passenger aircraft.
“Boeing reported a voluntary disclosure to the F.A.A. regarding procurement of material through a distributor who may have falsified or provided incorrect records,” the statement said. “Boeing issued a bulletin outlining ways suppliers should remain alert to the potential of falsified records.”
Spirit AeroSystems, which supplies wings to Airbus and fuselages to Boeing said it also had started an investigation into the matter.
It is unclear how many planes have parts made with the questionable material.
The use of the fake and not-very-sturdy counterfeit material on components manufactured between 2019 and 2023 and used on some Boeing 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner aircraft as well as some Airbus A220 jets extends the industry’s highly publicized problems beyond Boeing to Airbus, its primary competitor.
Airbus, whose headquarters is in Leiden, Netherlands, although daily management is conducted from the company’s main office located in Blagnac, France, grew out of a joint venture by Sud Aviation (later Aerospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation to build the Concorde supersonic jet.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)