Boeing finds another manufacturing flaw in 787 Dreamliner

Boeing has revealed another manufacturing flaw in the 787 Dreamliner. This time it’s from a production plant in Salt Lake City.

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Boeing said the problem is with the horizontal stabilizer on the tail of the 787. According to the company, pieces of the stabilizer were clamped together too tightly, which can cause gaps in the airframe that are larger than are acceptable. This can lead to premature aging of the horizontal tail section, though there is no immediate threat.

This problem potentially extends to 893 total Dreamliners, nearly all of which have already been built. Boeing is correcting the problem for 787s that have not been delivered, but it has not yet decided if that’s necessary for the entire fleet.

This revelation comes on the heels of two other manufacturing problems, both found in the manufacturing processes in South Carolina. The inner skin of some planes were found to be too rough, and gaps were found where pieces of the aft fuselage are joined together.

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The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the FAA is now performing a broad review of the manufacturing processes at that plant, which could include mandatory enhanced or accelerated inspections on hundreds of planes. The gaps in the aft fuselage sections are filled with shims that are produced by computers.

The Journal says the FAA found that Boeing didn’t test how it produces those shims or the material that fills the gaps to make sure they meet requirements. The FAA also found a lack of a quality checks to make sure they did.

Boeing discovered this issue in 2019 and reactivated a computerized quality check that had been turned off. This potentially goes back to 2011, when production in South Carolina began.

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