30 bolts missing on AF A340 overhauled in China

[sn26567]

AFP reports that an Air France Airbus A340 was grounded in Boston in November after 30 bolts were found missing following an overhaul in China.

More (in French): http://www.lepoint.fr/tiny/1-1400304

[DeltaWiskey]

That does not happen in China only. An aircraft of a friend of mine came back from maintenance with the holder of the elevator mechanism in the tail sitting loose. Good we checked it. When my friend called the mechanic, he instantly knew what it was about as he had still 4 bolts remaining...

[Comet]

Air France obviously don't check their planes very well, do they? How did that go unnoticed for so long?

[telspace2005]

and you wonder, why flying out of Rio de Janeiro, you end-up on the bottom of the ocean....

[cathay belgium]

in dutch ' met ne franse slag zekers'
cxb

[regi]

in dutch ' met ne franse slag zekers'
cxb

Chinese style I would say.
I come back on a previous conversation we had about manufacturing in China. It is OK as long as independent (foreign) control is CONSTANTLY present. The moment you turn your back, it is bingo.
So I am not surprised that this happened. In the end it is the fault of Air France , no doubt about that. They are responsable who maintain their aircrafts , according the standards.

I wonder which repercussions this will have in China for the maintenance crew/subcontractor/who ever did that job.

And a small question remains: where are the bolts?
( I am a bit surprised that with such a critical maintenance work they do not apply the system of counting the bits and pieces. Meaning: if the job is done, and you still have 30 bolts in a tray, an alarm bell must be ringing !)

The crash over the Atlantic Ocean had a different cause.

[DWJ]

It was 30 screws, not bolts (big difference)

[regi]

It was 30 screws, not bolts (big difference)

right. ( I quickly took the vocabulary from the title )
Makes it even worse to lose, they are much more visible.

[regi]

he instantly knew what it was about as he had still 4 bolts remaining...

Well, this is something I don't understand at all !
If he knew it, why did he release the plane?

This is such a simple procedure. Even mechanics who work on car engines in small repair shops keep the bits and pieces seperate from the new parts. Good example is to avoid re-installing old engine bolts.

[regi]

It was 30 screws, not bolts (big difference)

By the way, is it sure that it were screws and not bolts...? Mechanically speaking, it should be bolts.
We still have nuts and washers as well.

[bruteboeing]

wing to body fairings are screws, not bolts

[regi]

wing to body fairings are screws, not bolts

OK, accepted
My remark came from a mechanical background and language difference.
But I think it is a technical detail we better don't get deeper into , to avoid we stray off the subject's path.

Main question remains: how on earth was this possible...?
And...can it happen again? That is for many managers the question that never should be asked because we all know that it can happen again. And so comes the question what they will do about it to prevent a similar mishap. And that means money. ( training, systems, control, external inspection, punishment )
Just a simple hint : in some manufacturing, quality inspectors are given a bonus on the amount of faults they find. ( and we don't talk about parking wardens )