On a Saturday morning in May, 2020, Italian police officers caught two men pouring chemical waste into the sewers in the southern port city of Brindisi, near a small plane components factory.
Five years on, that routine pollution case has spiraled into a wide-ranging judicial investigation into how thousands of flawed titanium and aluminum parts manufactured in Italy ended up in nearly 500 Boeing 787 jets still in use.
The probe, due to be discussed at a preliminary hearing in Italy on Thursday, focuses on how tiny aero-part-maker Manufacturing Process Specification (MPS) allegedly defrauded clients by using cheaper and weaker metals to make floor fittings and other plane parts. Company executives deny the charge.
Italian Prosecutors Accuse 7 People, 2 Firms Over Flawed Boeing Plane Parts
Boeing has repeatedly said that there is no immediate safety risk. U.S. regulators, meanwhile, are preparing technical guidance for airlines to detect and replace any bad parts, without opting for the emergency orders reserved for the mo