Inspections by FAA
Reporting in Wall Street Journal for March 18 print edition and on website now states that FAA has taken over the final airworthiness inspection duties for four 787 aircraft prior to delivery.
First two paragraphs of news item (byline, Andrew Tangel):"Federal air-safety regulators have stripped Boeing Co.’s authority to inspect and sign off on several newly produced 787 Dreamliners, part of heightened scrutiny of production problems that have halted deliveries of the popular wide-body jets.
"The Federal Aviation Administration said its inspectors, rather than the plane maker’s, would perform routine pre-delivery safety checks of four Dreamliners that Boeing has been unable for months to hand over to its airline customers while it grapples with various quality lapses."
Article also states that WSJ had reviewed an FAA summary dated March 12 of its regulatory actions. And that "the agency said it would hold on to its Dreamliner approval authority 'until it is confirmed all shimming issues are resolved and airplanes conform to the FAA-approved design.'”
Whether or not this adds or detracts from basis for viewpoints about whether the 787 is "done for", SLF/atty here does not know.