Aircraft manufacturer Boeing It reported Thursday that several internal fasteners to the hull 787 Dreamliner the expected delivery was not properly hardened, stating that it did not affect the aircraft in operation.
“Our 787 team is inspecting the fasteners on the fuselage sides of certain 787 Dreamliners to ensure they meet our engineering specifications,” the planemaker said in a statement sent to AFP.
This should have limited, if any, impact on supplies, he said.
Open research
The group determines what it found during quality control operations improper fastening of vertical fasteners, internal structures of the fuselage that make up the skeleton of the part (in particular, wing, rudder) and fasteners.
“The in-service fleet can continue to operate in full safety,” he said, adding that he had contacted the airlines and the US aviation regulator (FAA).
He, in turn, noted that Boeing began the investigation after informing him of the possibility of improper fastening of fasteners.
The FAA works closely with Boeing to determine appropriate measures and ensure immediate correction of the production system,” the agency said in a statement sent to AFP.
A controlled manufacturer
This is the latest episode in a long series of manufacturing problems the plane maker has reported on several models.
It has been closely watched by regulators since the in-flight incident in January has been the target of several studies.
In 2020, eight Dreamliners were grounded due to production problems. Later, in 2021-2022, its deliveries were stopped several times due to manufacturing and inspection defects.
In February 2023, they were grounded again for several weeks due to a fuselage problem.
And, on May 6, 2024, the FAA announced the launch of an investigation into the plane to see if Boeing had implemented mandatory inspections of the wing-to-fuselage electrical connections.
The wide-body 787 was put into service in 2011. As of May 31, 1,129 had been delivered and 790 were on its order book, according to Boeing’s website.
By 18:10 GMT, Boeing shares were down 0.84% on the New York Stock Exchange. Boeing’s problems were the focus of nearly all FAA chief Mike Whitaker’s testimony Thursday morning before a Senate committee on airline industry oversight.