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Boeing discovers fuselage problems with 787 Dreamliner
by Shane McGinley on Feb 7, 2012
Boeing has discovered a problem related to the aft fuselage of its 787 Dreamliner planes and is making repairs that will not affect production of the aircraft, the company said in an emailed statement on Sunday.
The 787 Dreamliner is a light-weight, fuel-efficient, carbon-composite aircraft. It was three years behind its development schedule but finally entered service last year.
"Boeing has found that incorrect shimming was performed on support structure on the aft fuselage of some 787s," Boeing spokesman Scott Lefeber said.
Lefeber added, "we do not expect that it will affect our planned product rate increases," and that there are no short-term safety concerns.
Boeing aims to ramp up monthly production on the airplane to 10 by the end of 2013. Some experts believe the target rate is too ambitious, but Boeing is standing by it.
The work that resulted in the delamination was traced to the assembly of the aft fuselage section at a plant near Charleston, South Carolina, Boeing said. It involved “improper shimming” of the support structure in that part of the plane.
Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, told Arabian Business the reaction to the move by Boeing had been “blown out of proportion”.
“Because the 787 is such a high profile airplane, any incident, operational or manufacturing wise will make headlines - as with the case with the A380 and the wing cracks, no airplane is immune from production issues,” he said.
However, Ahmad said he was not surprised the fault was traced to the Charleston plant: “I'd also add that because this assembly fault was found in Charleston, we have to remember this is a new aerospace manufacturing facility and many of the workers have never worked with large scale composite aerostructures so it's not entirely uncommon to see production errors happen.”
Boeing has declined to identify how many aircraft were affected by Ahmad said the checks were unlikely to have a major impact on deliveries.
“Given that it's a minor problem and, from my understanding, well in hand at Boeing, this will pass without further incident,” he added.
More than 820 of the jets are on order to 55 airlines, including Gulf carriers Qatar Airways, Gulf Air and Amman-based Royal Jordanian. Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi’s state-backed airline, ordered 10 Boeing 787-9s valued at $2.3bn at list prices in December, in a deal that will make it the largest operator of the aircraft.
Boeing said it already notified the Dreamliner’s early customers “to ensure they are informed and aware of our plans to make repairs, should they be needed.”
The inspections were first reported by the online trade publication Flightglobal.
* with agencies
by Shane McGinley on Feb 7, 2012
Boeing has discovered a problem related to the aft fuselage of its 787 Dreamliner planes and is making repairs that will not affect production of the aircraft, the company said in an emailed statement on Sunday.
The 787 Dreamliner is a light-weight, fuel-efficient, carbon-composite aircraft. It was three years behind its development schedule but finally entered service last year.
"Boeing has found that incorrect shimming was performed on support structure on the aft fuselage of some 787s," Boeing spokesman Scott Lefeber said.
Lefeber added, "we do not expect that it will affect our planned product rate increases," and that there are no short-term safety concerns.
Boeing aims to ramp up monthly production on the airplane to 10 by the end of 2013. Some experts believe the target rate is too ambitious, but Boeing is standing by it.
The work that resulted in the delamination was traced to the assembly of the aft fuselage section at a plant near Charleston, South Carolina, Boeing said. It involved “improper shimming” of the support structure in that part of the plane.
Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, told Arabian Business the reaction to the move by Boeing had been “blown out of proportion”.
“Because the 787 is such a high profile airplane, any incident, operational or manufacturing wise will make headlines - as with the case with the A380 and the wing cracks, no airplane is immune from production issues,” he said.
However, Ahmad said he was not surprised the fault was traced to the Charleston plant: “I'd also add that because this assembly fault was found in Charleston, we have to remember this is a new aerospace manufacturing facility and many of the workers have never worked with large scale composite aerostructures so it's not entirely uncommon to see production errors happen.”
Boeing has declined to identify how many aircraft were affected by Ahmad said the checks were unlikely to have a major impact on deliveries.
“Given that it's a minor problem and, from my understanding, well in hand at Boeing, this will pass without further incident,” he added.
More than 820 of the jets are on order to 55 airlines, including Gulf carriers Qatar Airways, Gulf Air and Amman-based Royal Jordanian. Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi’s state-backed airline, ordered 10 Boeing 787-9s valued at $2.3bn at list prices in December, in a deal that will make it the largest operator of the aircraft.
Boeing said it already notified the Dreamliner’s early customers “to ensure they are informed and aware of our plans to make repairs, should they be needed.”
The inspections were first reported by the online trade publication Flightglobal.
* with agencies
