Boeing (
BA
), which has struggled to deliver its 787 Dreamliner range of jets
on time, has been hit by further delays. It has discovered a
manufacturing error, which according to industry experts, has
caused delamination in the plastic-composite aft fuselage section
of some 787 Dreamliners. The company has acknowledged the problem
in its short briefing on Sunday but has not disclosed its exact
nature or the amount of damage expected. It however said that their
are no short term safety concerns and repairs are underway. Boeing
principally competes with other global jet manufacturers
like Lockheed Martin (
LMT
),
Northrop Grumman
(
NOC
) and
Airbus
(
EAD
).
The delamination is happening in a section of the aft fuselage
near where the horizontal tail is joined. According
to Flightglobal, the website for Flight International
magazine, structural stiffening rods, which had been hardened with
fuselage skin in massive ovens, have partially separated from the
skins. The Dreamliner's aft fuselage is manufactured at
Charleston, S.C., a plant Boeing took over in 2009.
According to industry experts, any plane which has this error is
not allowed to work beyond "Normal Load" which is the maximum load
expected in the normal operating circumstances. However, for a
plane to be certified, it should be able to sustain 1.5
times that load, which is called the "Ultimate Load". This can lead
to long potential delays for the already assembled 50 aircraft,
which are substantially behind schedule.
Boeing is 3 years late on its targeted delivery dates. One of
the principal reasons for delay is the problem of faulty shimming
by mechanics working for Alenia, building the 787′s horizontal tail
in Italy. Shimming is a process of filling gaps between small
objects using various materials. The workers had applied too much
torque while tightening fasteners which compressed the shims and
degraded the compost material. This problem was discovered in 2010
and had resulted in months of delay to the jet program as the tails
of many of the aircraft had to be extensively reworked.
Boeing till present has completed the assembly of 50 Dreamliners
and has delivered five to launch customer All Nippon Airways of
Japan. The plane entered service in 2011.
See our full analysis of the Boeing stock
here