Boeing is suing two California companies, Able Aerospace Adhesives and AlfaKleen Chemical Labs, it claims supplied a mislabeled chemical that caused severe damage to the refueling system of its Air Force KC-46 refueling tanker and delayed its first flight in 2015 by a month.
Boeing is suing two California companies it claims supplied a mislabeled chemical that caused severe damage to the refueling system of its first Air Force KC-46 refueling tanker and delayed its first flight in 2015 by a month.
The suit, filed Friday in federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., seeks $10 million or more from Able Aerospace Adhesives of Valencia, California, and AlfaKleen Chemical Labs of Costa Mesa, California.
Boeing alleges the companies provided a chemical that was required to meet a defined U.S. military-performance specification — MIL-PRF-680 Type III — and was labeled as such, even though it did not.
“When the liquid was introduced into the aircraft’s fuel boom and fuel system, the Liquid damaged the components it touched,” the suit states. “The fuel boom and fuel system were damaged, and a number of the components comprising the fuel boom and fuel system had to be replaced.”
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The lawsuit also includes 10 as-yet unidentified other entities considered “responsible in some manner for the damages suffered by Boeing” through the manufacturing and labeling of the chemical.
In September 2014, Boeing ordered from Able Aerospace 36 gallons of the chemical, which Able then obtained from AlfaKleen, the lawsuit states.
The packing slip for the shipment to Boeing included several certifications from both Able Aerospace and AlfaKleen that the liquid conformed to the required military specification. The labels on the bottles shipped to Boeing also stated that the bottles contained liquid that met the specification, according to the suit.
As it turned out, the acidity of the chemical was significantly higher than the specification, causing corrosion of the fuel-system components, Boeing alleges.
The suit claims both Able Aerospace and AlfaKleen later issued reports “admitting that the liquid did not conform to the specifications,” the lawsuit states.
A woman who answered the phone at AlfaKleen on Tuesday said she would give no information and hung up.
A man who said he was one of the owners at Able Aerospace Adhesives also declined to give his name, saying that he knew nothing about the lawsuit.
“This is the first time I’m hearing of it,” he said, adding that the company’s main owner, who might know something, is unavailable until next week.
On the Able Aerospace Adhesives website home page Tuesday, the company touts itself as a seven-time winner of the Boeing Performance Excellence Award, which the jet maker confers annually on suppliers who execute well.