A Boeing 777x aircraft during an aerial display on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, UK, on Monday, July 18, 2022.
Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Boeing said Monday that it has paused flight tests of its 777X after it found damage in a structure of one among the wide-body aircraft.
The corporate said it discovered the damage to the custom part, which it said is between the engine and the airplane structure, during scheduled maintenance. It has since grounded the three other 777-9 airplanes in its test fleet. No other flight testing was scheduled for the opposite aircraft, Boeing said.
“Our team is replacing the part and capturing any learnings from the component and can resume flight testing when ready,” Boeing said in a press release. It said it has informed the Federal Aviation Administration and its customers, which have ordered 481 of the 777X, in accordance with Boeing’s website.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the grounding and issue would impact certification and delivery of the brand new wide-body jetliners, that are slated for 2025, about five years behind schedule. Boeing began flight tests of the aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration in July, a serious milestone.
The news, reported earlier by The Air Current, comes as Boeing’s leaders, including latest CEO Kelly Ortberg, are attempting to maneuver the corporate past a security crisis that began with a doorplug blowout in the beginning of the yr.
