News
Boeing restarts aircraft production at suburban Philadelphia plant
Nov. 27, 2008 - Ridley Park, Pa. - Boeing Co. on Wednesday restarted two production lines that had been shut down after a foreign object was found in an aircraft fuselage at a suburban Philadelphia plant.
November 27, 2008 By The Associated Press
The Ridley Township plant restarted the lines that make the V-22
Osprey aircraft and CH-47 Chinook helicopters, both used by the
military, company spokesman John Williamson said.
The lines had been shut down since Friday, when a plastic cap _
similar to a tool cover _ was found in the fuel line of an
in-production Osprey, Williamson said. The company has not
determined if it was an accident or intentional vandalism, he said.
On Monday, Boeing submitted a corrective action plan to a federal
agency that oversees military contractors. The Defence Contract
Management Agency approved it on Wednesday, leading Boeing to
restart production.
In May, the same factory was shut down when a disgruntled
employee used his work-issued wire cutters to sever about 70
electrical wires in a nearly finished Chinook.
Matthew Montgomery, of Trevose, pleaded guilty in September to
one count of destroying property under contract to the government.
Authorities said he was upset about a job transfer.
The same day that Boeing officials discovered the severed wires,
they also found a suspicious washer in the transmission of an
adjacent helicopter. No one has been charged and officials have said
Montgomery is not a suspect in that case.
The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that takes off and lands like
a helicopter but flies like an airplane. Chinooks are designed to
transport troops and supplies.
