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Boeing said on Tuesday it had suspended test flights of its 777-9 jumbo jet, whose development had been delayed for years, because of problems with a key component.
The planemaker discovered a problem with a structural part inside the engine casing during routine maintenance on one of four test aircraft. None of the other three planes were scheduled to fly. Boeing said each engine has a redundant version of the part, which was custom-made for the 777-9.
Boeing said it is replacing parts and investigating the issues with each aircraft and will resume flight testing “when ready.”
The suspension is the latest blow to development of the 777X family of aircraft, which began with the 777-9.
Boeing conducted the first flight of the 777-9 in January 2020 and said at the time that it expected deliveries to begin next year.
The 777-9 is a large twin-aisle airplane designed for long-haul international flights. It can carry approximately 426 passengers over 7,200 nautical miles.
Boeing plans to later build a smaller, longer-range version of the plane, the 777-8, and a cargo version, the 777-8 Freighter.
Boeing did not say how long the suspension is expected to last or whether it would delay the first delivery of the 777-9, which the company expects to be delivered next year. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Boeing notified the agency of the problem last week and the company said it plans to update the FAA with its latest findings. The suspension was earlier reported by aviation news service The Air Current.
Boeing began flying the model in July to obtain FAA certification, though it has been testing the aircraft on its own for some time. As of the end of last month, the test fleet had flown more than 1,300 flights in various regions and conditions, former CEO Dave Calhoun said on a call with investor analysts at the time.
Calhoun stepped down this month and was succeeded by Kelly Ortberg, the former chief executive of Rockwell Collins, a major supplier to Boeing and arch-rival Airbus.
In January this year, Calhoun announced his decision to resign after a panel exploded on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max passenger plane during flight.
The incident did not cause major casualties, but the crisis, along with two fatal 737 Max crashes five years ago, has slowed Boeing’s production and widened the gap between the company and Airbus.
This article was originally published on The New York Times.
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