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> Also, defective materials are caught much earlier in the manufacturing process through quality assurance methods, before they become airplanes.

Okay so maybe this is an apple's to oranges comparison, but I thought of the story how NASA was scammed by a supplier passing off shitty aluminium as space grade [1]. Is it reasonable to assume that if it can happen to NASA, it can happen to Boeing?

https://weather.com/news/news/2019-05-02-nasa-launch-failure...

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They check the airframes with nondestructive ultrasonic testing that doesn't involve oblitering entire aircraft. That would be caught at one of several different QA points. We're mostly talking about design verification, which is different.

Parent post gave the example I was remembering.

And the company, Sapa, didn't (AFAICT) manufacture the components, they were a third-party testing service!

They provided exactly the tests you say should have picked up the problems.

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