An worker works on the tail of a Boeing Co. A 787 Dreamliner on the production line at the corporate’s final assembly facility in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Travis Dove | Bloomberg | Getty’s paintings
Boeing on Tuesday warned of a new fault with its 787 Dreamliners that will delay deliveries of the manufacturer’s latest wide-body aircraft.
“We’re inspecting 787s in our inventory for non-compliances related to the installation of the horizontal stabilizer,” Boeing said in a press release. “Aircraft found to have nonconformities will be reworked prior to ticketing and delivery.”
The issue detected by Boeing pertains to small gaps within the horizontal stabilizer. Boeing said it was unrelated to flight safety and that aircraft in service could proceed to operate. Short-term deliveries will be delayed by about two weeks, Boeing said.
The issue is the newest in a string of production problems with Boeing planes which have slowed, if not halted, some plane deliveries as airlines are clamoring for new planes to make the most of the tourism boom.
Boeing halted aircraft deliveries for several weeks earlier this 12 months because of a separate issue with a fuselage component on some 787s. The most recent issue currently doesn’t affect Boeing’s full-year Dreamliner delivery forecast, the corporate said. Boeing estimates that it will deliver between 70 and 80 aircraft this 12 months.
The corporate also had to remodel a few of its best-selling 737 Max aircraft this 12 months because of mounting issues on among the aircraft’s aft fuselages, made by Spirit Aerosystems.
Boeing shares fell sharply on the news but largely rebounded, ending the day down 0.7% to $207.29.