New York.- Boeing suspended flight tests of its new aircraft model 777X wide-body aircraft after identifying a fault in a part that attaches the engine to the body of the plane, the latest in a long series of problems for the battered US aerospace giant, AFP reported.
“During scheduled maintenance, we identified a component that did not function” as it should, the company told AFP in a statement.
“Our team is replacing the part and gathering any learnings about the component and will resume flight testing when ready,” the statement added, confirming an earlier report by specialist website The Air Current. Boeing has suffered in recent years from safety concerns and questions about its quality control, with a near-catastrophic incident on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX in January when a blank door broke off the fuselage in flight.
Boeing’s new chief executive, Robert Kelly Ortberg, 64, took over earlier this month promising to restore confidence in the embattled manufacturer and announced he would relocate to Seattle to be close to the firm’s commercial aircraft manufacturing programs.
Boeing’s 777X widebody program, unveiled in November 2013, is the latest addition to its popular 777 family. The new twin-aisle aircraft is intended to be the world’s largest operating twin-engine aircraft. More than 500 777Xs have already been ordered but have not yet entered service. The part that caused the flight test suspension is custom-made for the 777-9 model and connects the engine to the airframe, Boeing said. The other 777-9s used for preliminary testing are currently being inspected, it added. The plane was originally scheduled to enter service in 2020, but due to problems during the certification process it has been delayed until 2025.
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