Read this guy's take on the respective A380 and 787 programmes. It is an uneven read and I certainly don't agree with all his stuff but it is interesting.
Lonely Scientist
What did Boeing think would happen? They have pushed the envelope simultaneously at too many points across the programme (materials, engineering, methodology, partners ... you name it).
This new delay appears to represent the triumph of rationality over hubris and wishful thinking.
flight should instead be postponed until productive flight testing could occur.
I wish them the best. The 787 is brave step forward and I bet the programme will come to be seen to be ground breaking (not Boeing breaking) in years to come.
Listened to the Boeing conference call. They are talking about stress concentrations that were not compatible with their computer model at an attachment point between the wing and the body during static testing. The issue affects the upper portion of side of body at 18 locations. A one or two square inch area is affected (on both sides of the aircraft) and the problem doesn't appear to extend down the wings or into the fuselage.
They are talking about a small number of parts (a handful of parts) comprising of titanium integrated with aluminium and composites.
The problems affects integrated structures (produced by Boeing, Mitsubishi and Fuji). It is envisaged that any proposed fix/mod will be able to be retro fitted to production aircraft in situ or on the production line.