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FAA discovers hidden problems in Boeing 787 Dreamliners
America’s aviation watchdog has discovered problems with undelivered Boeing Dreamliners
The Federal Aviation Administration has revealed that some undelivered Boeing 787 Dreamliners have a new manufacturing quality issue impacting the nose of the aircraft.
The issues will likely further delay deliveries of the popular wide-body jets.
The FAA says the issue is “near the nose on certain 787 Dreamliners in the company’s inventory of undelivered airplanes. This issue was discovered as part of the ongoing system-wide inspection of Boeing’s 787 shimming processes required by the FAA.”
The FAA added that “although the issue poses no immediate threat to flight safety, Boeing has committed to fix these airplanes before resuming deliveries.” The air regulators added after a review of data it “will determine whether similar modifications should be made on 787s already in commercial service.”
Boeing plans to address and fix the issue before the planes will be delivered
The aircraft manufacturing company has about 100 undelivered 787s in inventory.
Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 in late May after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method, saying it was “waiting for additional data from Boeing before determining whether the company’s solution meets safety regulations.”
The FAA in May had issued two airworthiness directives to address production issues for in-service airplanes.
Boeing’s turbulant past
The U.S. planemaker’s 737 MAX and 787 have been afflicted by electrical and other issues since late last year, and it had only resumed deliveries of the 787s in March after a five-month hiatus – only to halt them again in May.
Two key U.S. lawmakers said in May they were seeking records from Boeing and the FAA on production issues involving the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner.
