(New York) The American civil aviation regulator, the FAA, is investigating the reliability of titanium used by Boeing and Airbus in the manufacture of recent aircraft and whose certificates have been falsified.

According to the New York Times, it is metal supplied by a Chinese supplier, accompanied by documents containing false information, entered by an employee.

“Boeing spontaneously reported to the FAA that these materials had been obtained from a supplier who may have provided falsified or incorrect documents,” an FAA spokesperson told AFP.

“The FAA is investigating the extent and impact of this issue,” he added.

Several industry officials told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, that the development posed no immediate risk to aircraft currently in service.

Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor to Boeing and Airbus which is conducting its own investigation, favors the hypothesis of a single batch of titanium concerned, said a spokesperson.

“The documentation is falsified,” he commented, but “the titanium is good quality. For us, there is no security problem. But we cannot find the origin of the metal.

The spokesperson clarified that Spirit took delivery of the titanium in the form of parts and not as raw metal.

Boeing said it would remove titanium from aircraft not yet delivered, but that those currently in service could “continue to fly safely.”

“Tests carried out to this stage have shown that the correct titanium alloy had been used,” added the aircraft manufacturer.

Airbus assured the New York Times that “the A220’s ability to fly is intact.” Asked by AFP, the European manufacturer did not respond immediately.

Boeing has been experiencing setbacks for several months, partly linked to problems on its assembly lines.

On Thursday, it reported insufficiently tightened fasteners on several 787 Dreamliners awaiting delivery.

The group’s boss, Dave Calhoun, is due to be heard next week before a US Senate committee.

Furthermore, the American Transportation Safety Agency, the NTSB, reported on Friday an investigation into an incident that occurred on a Southwest 737 MAX 8 during a flight on May 25.

The plane began to roll sideways before the pilots managed to regain control.