Boeing instructed its customers to put eight recently-built 787 Dreamliners on the ground, as a risk of a structural failure was identified by the manufacturer itself.
The issues were related to two aft body fuselage sections, a Boeing spokesperson told the Air Current. There are two distinct manufacturing problems, added the company’s representative, while sources familiar with the matter noted that the area of the structure cannot withstand the maximum stress while flying, putting the area at risk of failure.
The eight Boeing 787 Dreamliners were built in the last few years and were put into an aircraft on ground (AOG) from Air Canada (ADH2), Singapore Airlines (SIA1) (SINGY) and United Airlines’ fleets.
At the forefront of the problem and AOG occurrence, are two composite barrels known as Section 47/48. The two sections are manufactured in Boeing’s South Carolina plant. There they are also joined with the aft pressure bulkhead and delivered either to the final assembly line in South Carolina or Everett in Washington state ‒ the second assembly line of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner program.
Boeing has contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding the issue. So far, no Airworthiness Directive (AD) was issued by the administration for either of the tree 787 types.