Boeing uncovers another defect on 787 Dreamliner: Report

The company did not name the supplier, nor did it identify the part, although a report said the defect involved certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be

Boeing said on Thursday a supplier told the planemaker that certain 787 Dreamliner parts were improperly manufactured, the latest in a series of problems to plague the wide-body aircraft.

The company did not name the supplier, nor did it identify the part, although the Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the defect involved certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be.

“While our investigation is ongoing, we have determined that this does not present an immediate safety of flight concern for the active in-service fleet,” a company spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Undelivered aircraft would be reworked as needed, Boeing said, adding that any fleet actions would be determined through its normal review process and confirmed with the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

The defect is on 787s built over the past three years, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

This comes as the planemaker continues to grapple with structural defects in its 787 that have caused it to cut production and halt deliveries.

Last month, the Journal had reported that Boeing's delivery of 787 Dreamliners will likely remain halted until at least late October as the US Federal Aviation Administration has rejected the company's recent proposal to inspect them.

Shares of the company were down 0.4 per cent at $220.86 in premarket trade. Since Wednesday,  US aviation regulators are reviewing a request by Boeing to redesign engine covers on the 777 and 737 jet models that have led to multiple dramatic failures, including a passenger death in 2018.

The Federal Aviation Administration is considering Boeing’s petitions to make “safety improvements” on the front of jet engines on the two models, the agency said in the Federal Register Wednesday.  Federal regulations require that engines are encased in a shield to prevent damage to a plane when a fan blade fails, but in multiple incidents on certain 737s and 777s blade fragments bounced forward and damaged less protected areas. 

The proposal is the first step in getting government approval for strengthening the engine covers. Because current regulations on the so-called cowling at the front of the engines don’t require the fixes, the company is requesting an exemption to the rules to proceed with its redesign.

The aviation industry and the public will have 20 days to comment on the FAA’s proposal to grant Boeing the exemptions.