Facility Builds Two Mid-Fuselage Sections Of The Dreamliner

A production flaw in Dreamliner fuselage sections detected at the Alenia Aeronautica plant in Naples has caused production work to be stopped there, Boeing has confirmed.  Structural weakness in the composite fuselage sections could cause a wrinkling of the material that could lead to "significant degradation" if left unrepaired.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the work stoppage was called for in a June 23 letter to the plant, according to the paper. In an e-mail, Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said the problem was not as serious as had been implied. "After a thorough review we found only two locations on each airplane that needed to be strengthened with a fairly simple patch," she said. "(A) modification needed to accommodate these findings is already designed and being installed" on the affected fuselage parts."

While it is possible that two of the six test platform aircraft may need the repair before their first flights, Gunter did not say that was certain.

The problems apparently cropped up when Alenia began using a new tooling machine on the 5th 787 to be manufactured there. Manufacturing is still at a standstill while Boeing engineers work to reduce the potential for wrinkling in the composite skin of the aircraft.

When asked if Boeing should have disclosed the problem sooner, Ms. Gunter said "The stoppage of work has no affect on schedule or cost. This is fairly normal for a new development program. These issues come up and we deal with them and move on."

FMI: www.boeing.com