The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said late on Monday that some undelivered Boeing 787 Dreamliners have a new manufacturing quality issue that the largest U.S. planemaker will fix before the planes will be delivered.
The FAA said the issue is “near the nose on certain 787 Dreamliners in the company’s inventory of undelivered airplanes. This issue was discovered as part of the ongoing system-wide inspection of Boeing’s 787 shimming processes required by the FAA.”
The FAA added that “although the issue poses no immediate threat to flight safety, Boeing has committed to fix these airplanes before resuming deliveries.” The air regulators added after a review of data it “will determine whether similar modifications should be made on 787s already in commercial service.”
Boeing declined to comment. Reuters first reported the new production issue to hit Boeing’s troubled 787 Dreamliner. The company has about 100 undelivered 787s in inventory.
Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 in late May after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method, saying it was “waiting for additional data from Boeing before determining whether the company’s solution meets safety regulations.”
The FAA in May had issued two airworthiness directives to address production issues for in-service airplanes.
The fuel-efficient 787 has been a hit with airlines, which have ordered nearly 1,900 of the advanced twin-aisle jet worth nearly $150 billion at list prices.
The FAA has been critical of some Boeing safety practices in recent years and imposed a $6.6 million fine on Boeing in February for failing to comply with a 2015 safety agreement.
