Eight of the aircraft will be grounded for inspection and repair of how parts of the fuselage were connected together, Boeing (BA) said in a statement.
“Boeing has identified two distinct manufacturing issues in the connection of certain 787 trunk sections to the rear axles, which, in combination, result in a condition that does not meet our design standards,” the company said in a statement. It said it was conducting an in-depth evaluation on the root cause of the problem.
There are nearly 1,000 787s delivered worldwide to 69 different airlines since its inception in 2012.
Boeing would not identify the three airlines that have the aircraft that are subject to inspections. The website for aviation news The Air Current, which broke the news, reports that United (UAL), Air Canada (ACDVF) and Singapore Airlines have the eight aircraft.
United had one of eight hit planes in its fleet, but it was not in service when the problem was discovered, according to a spokesman there. Most of the widebody jets worldwide are grounded due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Boeing is already struggling with problems with its best-selling aircraft, the single-aisle 737 Max, which has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. It is still awaiting approval for that aircraft to fly again.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it is aware of the issue with the 787 and is “continuing with Boeing,” but aviation regulators have not said whether they plan to issue a safety bulletin to operators about the issue. Boeing says the FAA is “fully informed, and we will continue to work with them.”
The 787 Dreamliner is a leading aircraft in the widebody part of the market, in which Boeing rival dominates Airbus (EADSF). Made from composite materials that weigh less than aluminum, the beam is extremely fuel efficient. While it was briefly grounded in 2013 after some fires in the lithium battery, the aircraft has had some known issues since then.
But the aircraft is primarily used on longer international routes, and international air travel has been severely hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Boeing has announced that production of the Dreamliner will be delayed as a result of the pandemic, and said it is considering closing one of the two plants building the aircraft to consolidate operations and cut costs. One plant, in the state of Washington, has union-represented workers, while the workers at the plant in South Carolina are not represented by a union.
A Boeing spokesman could not immediately say whether the production problems were related to both plants or just one.
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