Boeing has confirmed it has halted the delivery of structural parts for its 787 line in Seattle for the fourth time this year in the wake of an onboard fire in test aircraft ZA002 and the test fleet’s subsequent grounding.
The delivery pause, believed to be about three weeks long, is a consequence of a “16 day adjustment to the loading of new airplanes in final body join” according to Flightblogger, and is to ensure “the entire production system flows as designed and to minimise adverse impacts to final assembly.”
The manufacturer is yet to advise what impact the fire and the suspension to flight testing will have on its plan to deliver the first 787 to ANA in the first quarter of 2011.
