Boeing finds issue with 787 tail, says deliveries still on track

Published 5:20 pm Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Boeing Co. has found an assembly problem with its 787 jet horizontal stabilizer, supplied by an Italian partner.

Boeing’s global partner, Alenia Aeronautica, shipped some horizontal tail structures with improperly installed brackets, or shims, which attach the tail to the fuselage.

Still, “the 787 remains on track for first delivery to (All Nippon Airways) by the end of this year,” wrote Yvonne Leach, Boeing spokeswoman, in an e-mailed statement.

Boeing is more than two years behind schedule in delivering its all-new fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner.

Many of the delays have been due to the company’s extensive global supply chain, which ship large subassemblies into Everett where the 787 is assembled. The company also will open a second 787 final assembly line in Charleston, S.C.

Boeing is inspecting all 787s in production. But it will take Boeing about eight days to fix any Dreamliners that have the improperly installed brackets.

Boeing already has five 787 jets in flight testing. Those aircraft will continue to operate but will be inspected and reworked if necessary over the coming weeks, Leach said.

“It is not unusual for these issues to arise in the course of production programs — they are identified, dispositioned and dealt with through our normal processes,” she wrote in a statement.