WASHINGTON—The FAA has signed off on Boeing’s plan to correct 787 production problems and re-start deliveries, a major step towards getting the widebodies back flowing to customers again, Aviation Week has learned.
Months in the works, Boeing’s broad plan addresses inspection and repair procedures that cover myriad issues uncovered by the company on 120 787s awaiting delivery. It will drive airframe-specific compliance plans that the company will use to show each aircraft conforms with Boeing’s specifications. Once an airframe’s rework plan is completed, the FAA will validate Boeing’s work via pre-delivery inspections and issue an airworthiness certificate.
A source directly involved in the process confirmed the FAA approved Boeing’s plan.
The FAA referred a query to Boeing. The manufacturer declined to comment.
While airframe-level approvals remain, the FAA’s sign-off on the plan, provided to the agency in late April, seemingly puts Boeing on track to re-start deliveries within weeks. Several 787 customers expect to receive aircraft in August. American Airlines executives on July 21 said they are planning to receive two 787-9s in August, while Lufthansa is poised to take its first of 32 787-9s when deliveries start.
Boeing has been working to identify production-quality issues on its 787s for nearly three years. Most of the issues focus on how parts or major subassemblies fit together. Every aircraft built has required at least some re-work to bring it up to Boeing’s production standard, though none of the issues pose a safety-of-flight risk to in-service airframes.
Boeing has delivered just 14 787s in the last two years, and none since June 2021. Production has slowed to about one aircraft per month while the company focuses on finalizing the re-delivery plans and conducting re-work on its stored inventory.
While the final broad inspection and re-work plan was just approved, many issues in it were flagged and mitigation steps agreed upon in recent months, allowing Boeing and affected suppliers to conduct some of the necessary work.
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