Boeing grounds eight 787s over manufacturing defects

Boeing (BOE, Chicago O’Hare) has issued a service bulletin to the operators of a total of eight B787s ordering them to immediately park the aircraft due to a manufacturing issue affecting the strength of the aft fuselage. Sources told The Air Current that the eight aircraft are operated by United Airlines (UA, Chicago O’Hare), Air Canada (AC, Montréal Trudeau), and Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi). The last of the trio said that one of its B787-10s had been impacted, while United also confirmed that one of its B787s of unspecified variant was also affected. Air Canada did not comment on the development. All eight units were manufactured relatively recently, although no further details were revealed. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that United Airlines operates twelve B787-8s delivered between Septembrer 2012 and December 2014, thirty-two B787-9s delivered between September 2014 and August 2020, and thirteen -10s delivered between May 2017 and April 2020. Singapore Airlines operates fifteen -10s delivered between March 2018 and November 2019, while Air Canada operates eight -8s delivered between May 2014 and February 2015, and twenty-nine -9s delivered between July 2015 and April 2019. The manufacturer confirmed that it had identified two separate issues which affected the join between aft fuselage sections, resulting in a failure to meet design standards. It added that the aircraft would have to be repaired prior to their return to service. The issue affects the join of carbon sections 47/48 with the aft bulkhead, a part of the aircraft that is assembled at Boeing’s plant at Charleston, SC. The grounding is a result of two issues – naturally occurring gaps improperly filled with shims and the inner skin profile of the composite parts. In combination, they could lower the load bearing capabilities below the required limit. Boeing confirmed that it was able to verify that the issue had only affected the eight aircraft in question. According to the manufacturer, repairs are expected to take around two weeks per aircraft.