Boeing Co. said the 787 Dreamliner, already two years behind schedule, will miss its June 30 first-flight target, and a new delivery timetable won't be available for weeks. Boeing shares had their biggest daily decline since November.
Monitors on the body above the wing showed stresses beyond what models predicted, and there was little point in flying in a reduced test pattern, Scott Carson, Chicago-based Boeing's top commercial-plane executive, said Tuesday.
The 787 was planned for delivery in next year's first quarter, and the delay will be the fifth for Boeing, which has lost more than half its market value since the first postponement in October 2007.
Carson said on June 16 at the Paris Air Show that the "airplane could fly today," and he reiterated the plan to fly by month's end. Boeing knew about the issue then and didn't decide until June 19 to scrub the flight, he said Tuesday.
People are also reading…
"We had been through preliminary analysis of data and were of the mind that we could enter flight test with minor modifications," Carson said. After the development team's work narrowed the flight pattern, "we made the call to delay the process."
The affected areas are made up of titanium, aluminum and composite material, said Scott Fancher, general manager of the 787 program. The fix will involve a "relatively small number of parts and a relatively simple modification," and will not add weight to the aircraft, he said.
The 250-seat Dreamliner is the first airliner to have a fuselage and wings built mainly of composite plastics, making it lighter than conventional aluminum planes. Boeing has blamed disruptions on parts shortages, defects, redesigns and problems with suppliers.
Boeing fell $3.03, or 6.5 percent, to $43.87 at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
WHY IT MATTERS
The Dreamliner promises to be the world's most sophisticated passenger plane, as well as being crucial to Boeing's future. It is supposed to be lighter and more fuel-efficient than other commercial aircraft, the New York Times News Service says.