An employee works on the tail of a Boeing Co. Dreamliner 787 airplane on the assembly line at the company’s final assembly plant in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Travis Dove | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Boeing warned on Tuesday of a new defect on its 787 Dreamliner aircraft and that there will be delays in deliveries of the widebody, the manufacturer’s latest production problem.
“We are reviewing the 787 in our inventory for a non-compliant condition related to an elevator attachment,” Boeing said in a statement. “Aircraft found to be defective will be reworked prior to ticketing and delivery.”
The problem identified by Boeing is related to the tiny clearances in the tailplane. Boeing said it had nothing to do with flight safety and that the planes in service could continue to operate. Short-term deliveries will be delayed by about two weeks, Boeing said.
The problem is the latest in a spate of production problems at Boeing planes that have slowed or even halted deliveries of certain planes, while airlines clamor for new planes to capitalize on the travel boom.
Boeing had suspended deliveries of the planes for several weeks earlier this year due to a separate issue with a fuselage component on certain 787s. The latest issue is not impacting Boeing’s full-year prospects for Dreamliner deliveries at this time, the company said. Boeing estimates it will deliver between 70 and 80 aircraft this year.
The company also had to overhaul some of its best-selling 737 Max aircraft that year due to rear fuselage fitment issues on some aircraft manufactured by Spirit Aerosystems.
Boeing shares fell sharply on the news but largely recovered to end the day down 0.7% at $207.29.
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