Air Force again halts KC-46 deliveries after more debris found

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/04/02/air-force-again-halts-kc-46-deliveries-after-more-debris-found/

Air Force again halts KC-46 deliveries after more debris found

By: Stephen Losey    17 hours ago


The Air Force has once again halted deliveries of the KC-46 Pegasus tanker from Boeing after more foreign object debris, or FOD, was found in some closed compartments of the aircraft. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson confirmed in a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the budget Tuesday morning that deliveries had been stopped for a second time. Wilson told Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., that the Air Force is putting corrective actions in place, including requiring all closed compartments be inspected, “to make sure that the production line is being run the way that it needs to be run.”

Courtney expressed concern that problems with the KC-46 appear to be getting in the way of the Air Force’s “optimistic projections” about delivery of the aircraft.

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in an email that the decision to stop accepting the KC-46s was made on March 23. But inspectors are still finding debris and other quality problems with the Pegasus, as recently as this week, she said.
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