2023-06-07 10:07:48
The American aircraft manufacturer indicates that it must check the 90 aircraft it has in stock for a manufacturing defect problem. But ensures that it does not pose a risk to flight safety.
The black series continues for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft manufacturer has announced that it will have to check the 90 long-haul aircraft it has in stock because of a production problem which concerns the horizontal stabilizers and more specifically a fixing fitting.
“We are inspecting the 787s in our inventory for an out-of-compliance condition related to a fitting on the horizontal stabilizer,” Boeing said in a statement. And to specify that these inspections should last 15 days per device.
What somewhat lengthen the delivery times of this aircraft to airlines, while the difficulties in the parts supply chain are already weighing down these deadlines currently for the entire industry, including Airbus.
An “assigned” delivery schedule
“The necessary inspections and alterations will affect the short-term delivery schedule of the 787” confirms Boeing, which nevertheless does not plan to reduce its annual delivery targets (70 to 80 aircraft).
Enough to calm the irritation of its customers such as Saudia and Riyadh Air, which last March ordered 39 units of the 787 Dreamliner each and put options for 43 additional aircraft.
In December 2022, United Airlines announced plans to order 100 787 aircraft while optioning an additional 100.
The aircraft manufacturer nevertheless wants to be reassuring, stressing that the defect “does not pose an immediate flight safety problem”. Translation, aircraft already delivered can continue to fly.
Still, this is yet another production problem for the aircraft. Manufacturing defects were first discovered at the end of summer 2020 on the connection of a portion of the fuselage as well as on the horizontal stabilizer.
Problems since 2020
Boeing then announced that it had discovered another defect on the nose of the aircraft, which forced the company to suspend deliveries and reduce production rates. What cause 6.3 billion dollars of “abnormal costs” for the industrialist.
At the beginning of 2023, Boeing is once again suspending deliveries of this aircraft in order to analyze a fuselage element more closely, following Boeing’s discovery of an analysis error by one of its suppliers on the pressurization bulkhead at the front of the device.
While companies around the world are now engaged in a frenzy of buying new planes, this new problem on the Dreamliner family could favor its competitor Airbus. However, the European also has a lot of trouble meet its delivery targets.
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