Boeing Commercial Airplanes is dealing with a new issue causing delays in deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft, unrelated to problems that caused similar delays in 2022 and earlier this year. “We are inspecting 787s in our inventory for a nonconforming condition related to a fitting on the horizontal stabilizer,” Boeing said in a statement. “Airplanes found to have a nonconforming condition will be reworked prior to ticket and delivery.”
The issue is not expected to slow 787 production, which Boeing is increasing from three to four aircraft per month in order to fill high demand for the twin-engine, wide-body jets.
The repair involves replacing some improperly sized “shimming” on some 787s at the point where the stabilizer structure meets the fuselage.
The time required to inspect 90 aircraft assembled and in inventory awaiting delivery, and to implement repairs to the affected aircraft, could add two weeks to the delivery schedule, according to Boeing.
Boeing noted that airlines now operating 787 aircraft will not be affected at this time, and the issue with the horizontal stabilizer will not compromise flight safety. That was confirmed by a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration statement.
However, the OEM did not state when the error in production processes that caused fitting problem developed, and how many aircraft may have been delivered with the ‘nonconforming condition.’
This is the third pause in 787 deliveries since last year, with the most recent in February of this year. That delay ended in March, with FAA clearing Boeing to resume deliveries after it addressed the problem of a defective fuselage component.
Boeing also has slowed deliveries of its 737 MAX series aircraft to address structural defects.
