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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.

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.