Boeing warns of hundreds of 737 aircraft likely to have traces of defective laths

The nightmare year of Boeing's is even worse this weekend, the builder warning that hundreds of its 737 planes, including 159 of the struggling 737 Max, could have defective parts on their wings.

The Seattle-based company warned in a Sunday statement that a batch of slatted rails, produced by an unidentified vendor, had been discovered "potentially non-compliant".

The slats are movable panels, integrated with the wings of an airplane, which provide extra lift during takeoff and landing. Slatted rails are used to guide them.

AP Photo / Ted S. Warren

According to Boeing, twenty 737 Max and 21,737 Next Generation (NG) aircraft are "the most likely to have the parts in question".

In addition to the 41 aircraft that preoccupied him, Boeing warned all airlines operating 737 aircraft to check their slats as a precaution.

The manufacturer will ask the operators to check 133 NG and 179 Maxes in total, and will send a service bulletin stating how the airlines must check if the guide rails of the bars are defective, he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will also issue a directive asking Boeing's recommendations to check mandatory jets.

Jim Young-Pool / Getty Images

Boeing's warning Sunday came as confidence in the company's aircraft was low and two 737 Max planes crashed over the past year, killing more than 300 people.

Ten airlines are demanding offsets or changes to orders from Boeing, and many airline chiefs have openly expressed their doubts about the company as a result of the accidents.

Read more: Listening to the pilots, Boeing could have avoided a second crash of the 737 Max, said a union accusing the company of a "poisoned and sick philosophy"

Sumeth Damrongchentham, chairman of Thai Airways, said on Sunday that Boeing had to convince passengers of the safety of the 737 before the airlines plan to buy them more.

"You can not buy the plane and nobody wants to fly it," he said, according to Bloomberg.

Tim Clark, president of Emirates, said that Boeing had "caused enormous damage to the industry, and that it was incumbent on this responsibility to do so," according to Bloomberg.