US agrees to Boeing inspection, rework plan to resume 787 delivery

Boeing has had production problems with the 787 for more than two years. In September 2020, the FAA said it was “investigating manufacturing defects” on about 787 aircraft.

In the wake of the two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration has pledged to closely examine Boeing and delegate fewer responsibilities to Boeing for aircraft certification.

Boeing suspended delivery of the 787 after the Federal Aviation Administration raised concerns about the proposed inspection method. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) previously issued two airworthiness directives to address production issues for in-service aircraft and identified a new issue in July 2021.

Boeing’s chief financial officer, Brian West, said this week in a phone call with an investor that it has 120 787s in stock and is “making progress in completing the rework needed to prepare them for delivery.” Boeing “is producing at very low prices and we will continue to do so until deliveries resume, gradually returning to 5 aircraft per month over time.”

The aircraft manufacturer only resumed deliveries in March 2021 after a five-month hiatus before stopping them again. Friday’s approval came after lengthy discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The regulator said it wanted Boeing to ensure it had a “robust plan for the rework it must perform on a large volume of new 787s in storage” and that “Boeing’s deliveries are stable.”

The FAA said in February that it would retain the authority to issue airworthiness certificates so it could be confident that “Boeing’s “quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards.”

At the time, agency director Steve Dixon told Reuters in February that the FAA needed Boeing to “systematically reform its production processes.”

Boeing in January disclosed $3.5 billion in charges for 787 delivery delays and customer concessions, and another $1 billion in unusual production costs caused by production defects and related repairs and inspections.