Boeing has encountered yet another hurdle in the production of its flagship aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner. This time, a quality defect has been discovered in a horizontal tail attachment fitting, known as the stabilizer. This finding will further delay the aircraft deliveries as the mechanics’ teams work to rectify the issue.
The company issued a statement regarding the situation: «We are inspecting the 787 aircraft in our inventory due to a nonconforming condition related to an attachment fitting on the horizontal stabilizer. The inspections and required corrective work will impact the near-term delivery schedule of the 787.» However, it was clarified that the defect does not pose an immediate safety concern for flight, and the in-service fleet can continue operations without any issues.
A Troublesome Track Record
This latest setback adds to a long list of quality problems that the Dreamliner has faced in recent years, significantly impacting Boeing’s operations and finances. The faulty attachment fitting is supplied by an external supplier and is installed during the manufacturing process at Boeing’s facility in Salt Lake City.
As per Dominic Gates’ reporting for The Seattle Times, the defect in question is a small separation, similar to the thickness of a paper, in the attachment fitting. Typically, such separations are addressed by using a thin sheet known as a shim. However, in this case, the shims used in the attachment fitting have incorrect sizing, causing the separation to exceed the allowed specifications.
Previous Complications and Solutions
This is not the first incident of its kind affecting the Dreamliner’s horizontal tail. In the fall of 2020, it was discovered that certain components within the tail had been fastened during the construction process with greater force than specified, resulting in wider gaps than permitted.
Boeing’s technical team is currently working on the planning of the necessary repairs, and it is expected that each aircraft will require several weeks to complete the process. The company has notified the relevant authorities, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as its customers, about the progress in resolving this issue.
Facing the Challenges
This new delay in the 787 deliveries adds to other setbacks that Boeing has encountered in recent years, including quality problems with the fuselage joints that halted deliveries for several months. These incidents have resulted in significant additional costs for the company, which has been diligently working on rectifying the stored aircraft and improving its manufacturing processes.
Despite this latest challenge, Boeing remains confident in overcoming this situation and continuing with the production and delivery of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The company is reviewing manufacturing records and conducting thorough inspections to determine the number of aircraft requiring remediation for this new tail defect, in addition to the repairs at the fuselage joints, before they can be delivered to airline customers. For now, Boeing has not revised its projection of 70 to 80 787 deliveries for this year.
