The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating whether false or inaccurate documentation was used to attest to the authenticity of titanium used in some recently manufactured Boeing jets.
of The New York Times first reported the issue. He said Friday that the FAA is also investigating the authenticity of titanium used in some Airbus planes.
Aircraft manufacturers are facing strong demand for new planes due to a post-pandemic surge in travel, but supply chain issues and parts shortages are limiting their ability to meet that demand.
A key component in the aerospace supply chain, titanium is used to manufacture aircraft landing gear, blades and turbine disks.
The investigation was launched after a parts supplier discovered small holes in the material caused by corrosion, The Times reported.
The FAA said Boeing had reported voluntary disclosures “regarding procurement of materials through vendors who may have provided false or inaccurate records.”
“Boeing has issued a bulletin outlining how suppliers should remain vigilant against possible falsified records,” the agency added.
Boeing said the issue was affecting the entire industry, with some titanium shipments received by a limited number of suppliers affecting a small number of aircraft parts.
The company added that such parts were removed from the aircraft before delivery and there was no impact on safety.
Airbus did not immediately comment.
Canada has imposed sanctions on Russian titanium, with some exceptions, and it is unclear whether the forged documents are related to the sanctions.
Spirit AeroSystems, which supplies airframes to Boeing and wings to Airbus, said in a statement: “This involves titanium that entered our supply system through falsified documentation. Once this was discovered, all suspect parts were quarantined and removed from Spirit production.”
Spirit Airlines said it had “completed more than 1,000 tests to verify the mechanical and metallurgical properties of the affected materials and ensure their continued airworthiness.”
Last year, jet engine manufacturer CFM International revealed that thousands of its engine parts may have been sold with false documents by a British distributor.
The discovery prompted the airline to replace parts on several planes.
Boeing and Spirit shares each fell about 1%.
