FAA audit uncovers quality issues at Boeing and Spirit Aero
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the agency's 737 MAX production audit into Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements. The FAA’s six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, prompted by the January 5 incident involving a new, Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.
The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control. The FAA provided these details to the public as an update to the agency’s ongoing investigation. To hold Boeing accountable for its production quality issues, the FAA has halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX, is exploring the use of a third party to conduct independent reviews of quality systems, and will continue its increased onsite presence at Boeing’s facility in Renton, Washington, and Spirit AeroSystems’ facility in Wichita, Kansas. Boeing confirmed last week it is in talks to buy Spirit AeroSystems, a former subsidiary which it spun off in 2005. www.faa.gov
Amber raises funds for Asian fractional ownership program
China-based business aviation company Amber Aviation has announced that it has successfully completed its Series C funding round and will launch Asia’s first true fractional aircraft ownership program by the end of the third quarter of 2024. Launched in April 2022 as a sub-brand of Amber Aviation, AmberNet includes China’s first fractional lease program. In 2022, NetJets-backed Amber Aviation has begun taking delivery of aircraft formerly flown by NetJets. Its current fleet includes 21 aircraft. The fleet consists of a mix of Bombardier Global 5000 and 7500 large cabin jets, as well as the Gulfstream 650ER and G450.
AmberNet will now take the next step and launch a full fractional aircraft ownership program. Owners can purchase a share representing a set number of flight hours per year with guaranteed availability and a minimum notice period of 24 hours. At the end of the contract term they will be able to sell their fraction of the aircraft or continue with the program without incurring any additional acquisition costs. www.amber-aviation.com
HAI rebrands as Vertical Aviation International
In response to the needs of the rapidly expanding vertical aviation industry, Vertical Aviation International (VAI) is the new identity and name for Helicopter Association International (HAI). As the trade association representing the global vertical aviation industry, VAI is open to all manufacturers, operators, suppliers and vendors, pilots and maintenance technicians, and aviation professionals who serve or support aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing.
The association will expand its advocacy with legislators and regulators and provide a forum where all sectors of vertical flight can collaborate on shared challenges, such as vertical aviation infrastructure, certification of new technology, and the safe integration of that technology into the airspace. In addition to a new logo, VAI has renamed its annual conference and trade show, the former HAI Heli-Expo: VERTICON. The first edition of that show will welcome thousands of vertical aviation professionals from 90-plus countries to Dallas in March 2025. The association is in the process of building a new website, verticalavi.org, which will be launched in late summer 2024. In the meantime, visitors can use either the new web address or the current one, www.rotor.org
People: Andre Stein joins Eviation as CEO
Eviation Aircraft, a manufacturer of all-electric aircraft, recently announced that Andre Stein has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Eviation’s Alice, a nine-passenger aircraft, is the only flight-proven all-electric commuter aircraft of its size.
Andre Stein has been appointed as Eviation’s CEO after more than 25 years at Embraer, where he co-founded Eve Air Mobility and served as Eve’s CEO. At Eve, Stein also led the company’s industrialization strategy, partnerships and sales, and capital raising, including Eve’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
Stein is a seasoned leader with a proven track record in product development, leading the Embraer E2 product and market strategy from definition to certification. He is a co-founder of EmbraerX, Embraer's market accelerator, and he has been the leader of Embraer's Urban Air Mobility initiative since its inception and EmbraerX's Head of Strategy. Before assuming his role at EmbraerX he led Embraer's Commercial Aviation Product and Market Strategy. He was responsible for the E175+ product definition and go-to-market strategy.
Stein is a Strategic Marketing Scholar from Kellogg School of Management and a Mechanical Engineer from Unicamp. He is an avid traveler who is passionate about mobility and has accumulate multicultural experience from living and working in Space Coast, Silicon Valley, Australia, Singapore and Brazil. www.eviation.com