(Dec 18): The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is mandating inspections of some Airbus SE A320 jets and requiring carriers to repair any out-of-spec panels found on the fuselages.
Operators that took delivery of A320 family aircraft with potentially non-compliant parts must do a visual inspection and a full panel-thickness measurement of each one, according to the EASA directive issued on Wednesday.
The notice comes after an “Airbus supplier identified a quality issue in production, resulting in potential deviations from the specified thickness of various fuselage panels delivered to Airbus,” the regulator said.
“This condition, if not detected and corrected, in combination with certain repair conditions, could affect the structural integrity of the aeroplane,” EASA said.
The panels were made by Sofitec Aero SL, and Airbus said earlier it’s implementing a joint plan with the Spanish supplier that included having quality and supply chain specialists at the Seville manufacturing site.
The supplier is at the heart of recent quality-control problems that forced Airbus to cut its 2025 delivery target. A total of 628 jets contain panels that may be too thick or too thin due to a manufacturing issue, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.
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Most of those aircraft are still with Airbus, though about 170 are currently flying.
A union representing Sofitec workers previously accused the supplier of broader issues at its factory, including falsifying production-process dates and using expired materials. The union also said the company had been targeted by government inspectors over health and safety standard lapses.
Airbus has said it was unable to comment on specific claims by the union.
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