WASHINGTON—Boeing said on Tuesday it is slowing deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner after the company discovered a new production flaw, but expressed optimism that it can still deliver 70-80 of the widebody jets this year as planned.
The problem, which does not pose a flight safety concern, involves a fitting for the 787’s horizontal stabilizer installed by a Boeing production facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company said.
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.
The horizontal stabilizer, located at the base of an aircraft’s tail, allows a plane to maintain longitudinal balance while flying. Boeing said it found last week that the fitting included shimming – a material that fills gaps between the surfaces of an aircraft – that was improperly sized and did not meet specifications. On Friday, it stopped ticketing 787s suspected to have the flaw for delivery, the company said….