The United States Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that Boeing Co. has suspended all deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner until the agency receives all required data before confirming if the planemaker’s planned inspection method meets with federal requirements.
“Boeing still needs to show that its proposed inspection method would meet FAA’s federal safety regulations. The FAA is waiting for additional data from Boeing before determining whether the company’s solution meets safety regulations,” the FAA said in a statement. “Since the FAA has not approved Boeing’s proposal, Boeing chose to temporarily stop deliveries to its customers.”
It was only in March that Boeing resumed deliveries of the 787 after a five-month suspension while a number of problems, including those relating to the jet’s electrical wiring, were sorted. “We are working to provide the FAA with additional information concerning the analysis and documentation associated with the verification work on undelivered 787s,” a Boeing spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We continue to work closely with the FAA in a transparent and timely manner. There is no impact on the in-service fleet.”
In September 2020 the FAA investigated manufacturing flaws in a number of 787 Dreamliners after eight were grounded by operators after the discovery of two distinct manufacturing issues. In March this year, the FAA confirmed it was taking “a number of corrective actions” to address multiple 787 production issues, including retaining authority to issue approval certificates for four specific aircraft.
Last week Boeing was hit with US$17 million in penalties for failing to obtain approval for sensors attached to 759 Boeing MAX jets as well as the submission of 178 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for airworthiness certification when the aircraft potentially had non-conforming slat tracks installed, and improperly marked those slat tracks.
