Aerospace company Boeing says some titanium parts on its Dreamliner were improperly manufactured over the past three years, adding to a series of problems plaguing the aircraft.
The company said it has notified the US Federal Aviation Administration FAA about the problems but has said the quality issue does not affect the immediate safety of flights. The parts include fittings that help secure the floor beam in one fuselage section, as well as other fittings, spacers, brackets, and clips within other assemblies. Undelivered planes will be reworked, and planes already carrying passengers will go through a review process with Boeing and receive FAA confirmation.
The parts were provided by fellow aerospace company Leonardo, who purchased the items from Italian-based company Manufacturing Processes Specification MPS.
Leonardo said in a statement the issues are ascribed to MPS and the Italian-based company, "is under scrutiny by prosecutors, therefore, Leonardo is an injured party and will not bear any potential costs associated with this issue".
The defect was found by Boeing while the company grapples with other problems in its Dreamliner that caused it to cut production and halt deliveries since May. Problems started in September when the FAA said it was investigating manufacturing flaws.
Boeing was able to resume deliveries of the Dreamliner in March after a five-month hiatus — only to halt them again in May after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method. In July, the FAA said some Dreamliners had a manufacturing quality issue near the nose of the plane that must be fixed before Boeing can deliver to customers. MPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The parts include fittings that help secure the floor beam in one fuselage section, as well as other fittings, spacers, brackets, and clips within other assemblies.
Undelivered planes will be reworked, and planes already carrying passengers will go through a review process with Boeing and receive FAA confirmation. The defect was found as the planemaker grapples with other problems in its that have caused it to cut production and halt deliveries since May. Problems started in September when the FAA said it was investigating manufacturing flaws. Airlines using that model removed eight jets from service.
Boeing was able to resume deliveries of the s in March after a five-month hiatus - only to halt them again in May after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method. It takes its place among legendary earth-shrinking conveyances such as the Douglas DC-3, the first modern airliner; the Boeing , the first successful commercial jetliner; The Boeing , the first wide-body jumbo jet that brought long-haul travel to the masses; and the Concorde SST.
This elite group are considered "moonshots," deploying cutting-edge, exotic technology often before it was ready. Their paradigm-changing design would influence all new airliners that came after them. But it would come at a price. By the time the first of the initial batch of 50 s was delivered to launch customer ANA in September Boeing would break even at over 1, delivered units, but this would take another decade.
It would be another two and a half years before the first took flight on December 15, It was supposed to enter service in just prior to the Beijing Summer Olympics. New airline programs are notoriously behind schedule, but the 's was three and a half years late. Ten years ago, that troubled gestation was set aside for one historic flight. I was fortunate to be a passenger on board ANA flight , the inaugural flight of the Boeing Dreamliner in passenger service, operating a special charter between Tokyo and Hong Kong.
After nearly eight tortuous years in development, Boeing's technical tour de force was finally ready to the ply the skies for its first customers: airlines and passengers. Our flight's manifest consisted of media, ANA employees, and about aviation enthusiasts who had competed in an auction for a coveted seat to history. I have covered many first flights, but only the first flight of the Airbus A rivaled this for enthusiasm.
Packed with new features. Without getting too geeky, it's worth recounting what made aviation's latest arrival such a departure from all aircraft before it. For starters, it was the world's first all-composite airliner, which resulted in a lighter, stronger, and nearly ageless fuselage. Less weight translates into reduced fuel burn.
Major systems such as air conditioning and flight controls once powered exclusively by mechanical hydraulics were now electrically powered. The plane even sounded different, with electric whirrs replacing hydraulic hisses. The manufacturing was highly outsourced and this controversial sharing of financial risk was equally innovative and cost-saving -- but ultimately the Dreamliner's biggest foible.
The delivered gee-whiz passenger experience tech in spades. The passengers on that flight were like real-time beta testers, swarming over all the new features. LED mood lighting programs bathe the cabin in a full spectrum of colors, from calm aquas and radiant reds to full on Studio 54 disco mode. The natural and LED lighting align the passenger's circadian rhythm with the light outside and the ultimate destination, thus combating jet lag on the long-haul flights the aircraft was designed for.
Composite fuselages don't rust, and really don't age from pressurization and de-pressurization cycles. Likewise, the cabins are pressurized at 6, feet versus the 8, feet on more prosaic airliners. These aren't just gimmicks, but reduce fatigue and increase dehydration and oxygen levels, which matter particularly on longer flights.
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