Dreamliner: Boeing says Flaw could affect 55 Planes
Baku, February 23 (AZERTAC). About 55 Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner jets may have a recently discovered flaw in the fuselage, the company said on Wednesday, while reiterating that the world`s first carbon-plastic passenger plane is safe to fly.
n the latest in a series of glitches in developing the revolutionary jet, Boeing earlier this month reported signs of "delamination" on a support structure in the rear fuselage. Delamination occurs when repeated stress causes laminated composite materials to begin to separate.
Although composite parts have been in use for years, the 787 is the first airliner built mainly out of the new materials, which help airlines save fuel by reducing aircraft weight.
Albaugh said the inspections might affect delivery of the aircraft to customers in the short term, but Boeing still expects to meet its target for this year.
The first six aircraft produced are generally test models.
Analysts have said the discovery of the flaw after the first delivery of the aircraft last September has raised questions about whether Boeing can meet what many already saw as an ambitious plan to raise output to 10 Dreamliners a month by the end of 2013.
Herbert said many aviation experts and stock analysts expect Boeing to miss its production rate target next year and have already priced that view into the company`s shares.
Boeing has so far delivered five of the aircraft to Japan`s All Nippon Airways, which put the plane into regular passenger service starting on December 1. Due to production problems, that was three years later than originally planned.
ANA said Boeing had contacted the airline to say there were no safety issues involved in shimming and to give a general indication of the inspection procedure. ANA said its five Dreamliners are operating normally.
Japan Airlines has already said it no longer expects its first Dreamliner by the end of February as a result of the manufacturing glitch.
The 787 problem comes as Boeing rival Airbus investigates the cause of cracks in part of the wings of its A380 superjumbo. It also insists its jets are safe.
Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders pledged last week the plane-maker would apply lessons from the A380 glitches to the development of the A350, which is the European company`s carbon-composite answer to the 787 Dreamliner.
Most aircraft analysts expected Boeing to push ahead with the 787-10, which would carry around 320 people, 40 more than the longest 787 version currently on offer, the 787-9.
The 787 and A350 address the mid-sized segment of the market, which is expected to number several thousand aircraft in coming decades as airlines renew fleets to save fuel and open up new routes.
Airbus and Boeing are also battling to maintain a roughly equal share of the single-aisle aircraft segment, the industry`s largest by volume, after updating their best-selling 150-seat jets with new engines.
