Boeing: New defect on 787 Dreamliner planes

Boeing said its 787 Dreamliner planes may have a new defect, according to CNBC and other business news outlets.

The announcement sent the stock plummeting and could slow the pace of deliveries, MYNorthwest reports.

“We are inspecting 787s in our inventory for a nonconforming condition related to a fitting on the horizontal stabilizer,” Boeing said in a statement. “Airplanes found to have a nonconforming condition will be reworked prior to ticket and delivery.”

Reuters Business reported the problem involved a fitting for the 787’s horizontal stabilizer made by a Boeing production facility in Salt Lake City. Boeing will need to inspect all 90 Dreamliners in its inventory before they can be delivered, and it expects it will take two weeks to fix each aircraft, the company added.

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The company said the problem does not pose a flight safety concern. Boeing said it will take two weeks added time to fix each aircraft.

According to Aerospace Technology, Boeing launched the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft in 2003. The 787 family of aircraft, in the 200 to 300-seat class, will carry passengers non-stop on routes between 6,500 km and 16,000 km at speeds up to Mach 0.85.

The aircraft is highly fuel-efficient and offers a lower cost of travel in terms of seat cost per mile as well, with the ability to fly directly to smaller regional airports instead of larger airports where passengers proceed to transfer flights to regional destinations.