Boeing completes structural fix on two more 787s

Published 10:13 am Monday, November 16, 2009

The Boeing Co. has finished modifications on two more 787s as the company races to put the Dreamliner in the air by year’s end.

Over the weekend, workers in Everett finished reinforcing a structural weakness on the the static test aircraft and the second 787 flight test airplane, Boeing said Monday. The company completed modifications to the first flight test aircraft last week.

“Our focus now is on completing the static test later this month, which will validate the modification,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “Concurrently we are restoring the airplanes and completing the functional tests required to fly by the end of the year.”

Boeing discovered a weakness in the 787’s side-of-body area shortly before the jet was supposed to make its first flight in June. The company postponed the Dreamliner’s first flight for the fifth time. But Boeing officials say the 787 will fly before Jan. 1 and that the first Dreamliner will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2010, more than two years late.