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Production of the Boeing Dreamliner in the USA
Photo: Gavin McIntyre / dpa
The U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing has identified a new defect in its 787 Dreamliner long-haul jet, which has been plagued by a series of production breakdowns. Boeing is currently investigating a number of aircraft that have not yet been handed over to customers and that may require rework before delivery, the company said on Tuesday.
The fault concerned a fastening of the horizontal stabiliser and was not relevant to safety, but required the inspection of all 90 Dreamliners in the fleet. The company informed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its customers about the situation. The problem is unlikely to change the delivery target for the year as a whole for the time being, it said.
In the meantime, Boeing's shares fell sharply into the red. The Dreamliner – one of Boeing's most important aircraft models – has often caused problems in recent years. Due to various production defects, the aircraft was not allowed to be handed over to customers from May 2021 to August 2022. In February 2023, Boeing had to stop deliveries again for a few weeks. The U.S. air traffic control had announced at the last recertification that in the future each 787 produced would be checked individually.