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Aerospace giant Boeing is facing new complications with two of its planes, less than two weeks after its new chief executive took over the embattled company.
Boeing (BA) paused test flights of its 777X fleet, its new flagship aircraft, after a routine inspection uncovered damage to a part that connects the engine to the plane’s body, the company said Monday. Several planes in the fleet showed similar cracks in the structure.
“During scheduled maintenance, we identified a component that did not perform as designed,” a Boeing spokesperson said. “Our team is replacing the part and capturing any learnings from the component and will resume flight testing when ready.”
There are currently 481 orders for the 777X, whose commercial rollout — originally slated for 2020 — has been pushed back until 2025, according to One Mile at a Time. Almost half of those orders are from Emirates, which placed a $52 billion order for the wide-body planes last year to replace its retiring Airbus (EADSY) A380s.
Also on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections into Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners, related to a March incident that injured 50 when a pilot unexpectedly slammed forward into the controls while piloting a LATAM Airlines flight.
The airworthiness directive will require airlines to inspect the captains’ and first officers’ seats for missing or cracked rocker switch caps or for cracked switch cover assemblies on 787-7, 787-9, and 787-10 planes within 30 days. The inspection will affect 158 U.S.-registered aircraft and 737 planes worldwide.
“We fully support the FAA’s Airworthiness Directive which makes mandatory a supplier’s guidance to 787 operators,” Boeing said in a statement.
This isn’t the first major setback for the 787 this year. In April, the Virginia-based aircraft manufacturer projected a slower increase in production of its 787 Dreamliner planes due to supply shortages of a “a few key parts.”
By the end of 2023, the airplane maker was producing 787 Dreamliners at a rate of five per month, the company said in its fourth-quarter earnings report in January. It hopes to double that figure by as early as next year, CFO Brian West said in a call with analysts.
Quality problems brought the delivery of 787s to a grinding halt for more than a year. The company resumed its deliveries of the aircraft in mid-2022.
Boeing’s 2024 has gone from bad to worse after a door plug blew out mid-flight on a 737 Max 9 plane in January. The aircraft maker was subsequently hit with a barrage of regulatory scrutiny and complaints from multiple whistleblowers over the safety of its planes.
Its new CEO and industry veteran Kelly Ortberg, who stepped into the role Aug. 8, will be tasked with handling the onslaught of criticism and scrutiny that has continued to bog down the company financially and in reputation.
Boeing’s stock fell more than 1% in pre-market trading Monday. Its shares are down roughly 30% so far this year amid the controversies.
