News

Dreamliner fire puts schedule in doubt

11 Nov 2010 by AndrewGough

Dreamliner deliveries face yet another setback following a fire onboard a test flight this week.

The incident on Tuesday saw a loss of primary electrical power onboard the B787, but backup systems allowed the crew to land safely.

Boeing said in a statement yesterday (November 10) that it had now suspended further test flights until it could “better understand” the cause of the fire. Analysis of in-flight data is expected to take several days.

“Likewise, we cannot determine the impact of this event on the overall programme schedule until we have worked our way through the data,” Boeing said.

“Teams have been working through the night and will continue to work until analysis is complete and a path forward is determined.”

The fire is yet another setback to Boeing’s Dreamliner delivery. In August it announced that it had pushed the already much-delayed first delivery back to the middle of the first quarter 2011, due to the availability of Rolls Royce engines and the “cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues” (see online news August 27).

For more information visit boeing.com, or click here for a look at the new Dreamliner simulator at Gatwick Airport.

Report by Andrew Gough

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