Boeing Co. has paused deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner over a documentation issue with a fuselage component, the latest setback for the planemaker’s marquee widebody program.
(Bloomberg) — Boeing Co. has paused deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner over a documentation issue with a fuselage component, the latest setback for the planemaker’s marquee widebody program.
The problem stems from an analysis error by a supplier related to the 787’s forward pressure bulkhead, the planemaker said Thursday in a statement. Boeing discovered the issue in certification paperwork provided to the US Federal Aviation Administration and notified the regulator.
Dreamliner production is continuing as Boeing works to resolve the issue, which the company said doesn’t pose an “immediate safety of flight concern for the in-service fleet.” Boeing expects no change to its 2023 production and delivery targets for the plane, though deliveries will be affected in the near-term, it said.
Boeing shares were 1.6% lower overnight trading in New York.
The company hasn’t delivered a 787 since Jan. 26, according to data from Ascend by Cirium.
The latest delivery halt is likely to be a short-term issue, according to Cai von Rumohr, an analyst at Cowen & Co.
“Our understanding is that the error is a ‘non-compliance’ with FAA documentation requirements and not a ‘non-conformance’ with a manufacturing specification,” von Rumohr said in a note to clients, who identified the supplier as likely being Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc.
The FAA said in a separate statement that deliveries won’t resume until it’s satisfied the issue has been addressed.
“The FAA is working with Boeing to determine any actions that might be required for recently delivered airplanes.”
The 787 has been plagued by production issues in recent years after Boeing discovered manufacturing flaws in the carbon-fiber fuselage sections. It was not considered a safety issue and planes in service continued to operate, but it prompted lengthy halts in deliveries.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the delivery halt.
–With assistance from Siddharth Philip.
(Updates with analyst comment in seventh paragraph)
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