US Air Force KC-46A deliveries resume after suspension

https://www.aerotime.aero/clement.ch...ter-suspension

The deliveries of the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker resumed on March 11, 2019,
after more than a week of suspension due to loose tools and debris found in the
planes.

A KC-46A Pegasus was delivered to the 97th Air Mobility Wing in Altus Air Force
Base, Oklahoma, according to a press release from the United States Air Force.

This marked the resumption of deliveries, after suspicious objects were found in
several aircraft that had been already received by the Air Force. The planes had
been assembled at Boeing main’s facility in Everett, Seattle. The objects were
described as loose tools and Foreign Object Debris (FOD).

The issue was initially reported on February 20, 2019, after five aircraft were
already delivered. The deliveries were subsequently suspended on February 28,
2019, according to a Boeing memo published by The Seattle Times. Training
flights were also put on hold.

To tackle the issue, a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) was issued for the delivery
process. “As directed by the CAP, subsequent deliveries will occur as Boeing
successfully completes each aircraft’s inspections and actions,” said Rose
Riley, Air Mobility Command Public Affairs spokesperson.

Now that the deliveries resumed, the USAF is set to keep an extra eye on the
coming planes. “We're going to be measuring as we go, and we expect to see many
months of pristine airplanes,” said Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the
Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics during a hearing, as quoted
by military.com. “They should be clean on delivery. If we don't see progress,
we'll have to raise the stakes.”

The mishap came only a month after delivery started. On January 10, 2019, more
than a year after due date, the USAF received its first KC-46A. Already at the
time, “deficiencies [were] discovered in developmental testing of the remote
vision system.” Boeing has agreed to fix the RVS at its expense, a process which
could take a few years.




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