Boeing Cleared To Deliver 787s

ABC News is reporting the FAA has approved Boeing’s plan to validate fixes on Boeing 787s so they can resume deliveries of the aircraft. The company hasn’t been able to…

ABC News is reporting the FAA has approved Boeing’s plan to validate fixes on Boeing 787s so they can resume deliveries of the aircraft. The company hasn’t been able to ship out any of the planes since 2020 because of deficiencies in the documentation of repairs for manufacturing faults discovered in 2020. The authorization could allow Boeing to start clearing its backlog of 120 finished Dreamliners in August, but neither the FAA nor Boeing would comment in detail to ABC. Earlier, the FAA said its inspectors would examine every one of the aircraft and do the signoff rather allowing designated Boeing staff to approve them.

The issue first arose when it was discovered the wrong shims were used to fill gaps between composite assemblies. That investigation led to the discovery of issues with the front pressurization bulkhead. After that, it was found that titanium fasteners used to hold the plane together were made out of the wrong alloy. Airlines all over the world are waiting for the planes and Boeing will collect millions of dollars on each when they’re delivered.

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.