Boeing will delay deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner after detecting defective parts during production, a setback as the aircraft maker works to meet growing demand for its long-range jet.
The flaw could affect about 90 Dreamliners already manufactured that the company has not yet delivered, Boeing said Tuesday. The manufacturer will inspect each plane for improperly sized fillers in the horizontal stabilizer. A handful of 787s on the final assembly line at Boeing’s North Charleston, South Carolina, facility will also have to be inspected for defects and, if necessary, repaired.
In the short term, Boeing’s latest production failure is likely to exacerbate the shortage of new aircraft as airlines struggle to keep pace with post-pandemic growth in air travel. Boeing and Airbus have faced labor and supplier tensions that are sapping their ability to ramp up production.
→ Boeing: Certification of 737 MAX 7 is taking ‘considerable amount of time’
Boeing is also facing a supplier defect affecting hundreds of its 737 MAX aircraft.
According to Boeing, production of the 787 will not stop. The next horizontal stabilizers coming out of the company’s Salt Lake City factory will be built with wedges that meet Boeing’s engineering specifications. It also indicated that it continues to project to deliver between 70 and 80 of its widebody aircraft this year, and has not changed its goal of building five Dreamliners a month by the end of the year.
Boeing and U.S. regulators are still determining what actions will be necessary for the 787 fleet in service. U.S. regulators do not consider the defective stabilizer parts, discovered last week, to constitute an immediate flight safety issue. This means that emergency repairs that are already in commercial airline service are not necessary.
Recall that the U.S. aircraft maker suspended deliveries of the 787 earlier this year and is just recovering from minor structural defects that stalled Dreamliner shipments during 2021 and 2022.
By Julie Johnsson – Bloomberg
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