It’s been about five months since the Boeing Dreamliner 787 was delivered. However, on Friday, March 26, it broke the dry spell as United Airlines was given a new 787-9 factory. Of course, another 787 will be delivered to the airline on Monday as well.
“We have resumed 787 deliveries, following several months of engineering review and inspection work. As a result of our commitment to safety and compliance we carefully scrutinized many aspects of the program to ensure we continue to deliver aircraft that meet Boeing’s highest regulatory requirements and quality standards. ” -Boeing speaker
Not delivered from October
Since the aircraft type program began – more than 10 years ago, the Boeing 787 has been working through a number of issues. This included quality control issues – which were tied to his facility in Charleston, South Carolina.
In September, we reported on issues raised regarding the aircraft’s direct stabilization, and just last month, FAA airlift was required to conduct a repetitive visual inspection of obstacles bilge located in the forward and aft cargo compartments to look for inseparable or damaged decay panels. Boeing has recently turned its attention to some Dreamliner cockpit windows, inspecting select aircraft for potential defects.
As mentioned in the Boeing statement above, the manufacturer has been reviewing its program to meet regulatory requirements and ensure that production meets quality standards. The aviator has been working closely with the FAA through this process, as he is working to validate and rework his production activity.
“Today, we began delivering 787 after several months of rigorous engineering inspection, inspection and rework as required to ensure that every aircraft we deliver meets regulatory requirements,” -Lane Ballard, 787 Program Director, Boeing via BNN Bloomberg
What planes are delivered?
At the time of the announcement, the actual delivery trip for this particular 787 to United Airlines had not yet taken place. Sources note that the first plane will be ferried today, from Charleston, South Carolina. It will go to the United San Francisco hub.
Although we do not know the exact aircraft, data from BOE Family Flights show two potential candidates:
- On March 20, the 787-9 N29985 registered (MSN 66144/1048)
made it his eighth test time - On March 21, the registered 787-9 N28987 (MSN 66146/1058) took its fourth test run
With one Dreamliner set to board the ferry today, and BNN Bloomberg reporting another delivery to United on Monday, those two jets are likely to be the most likely candidates.
United are not the only carriers to expect new 787s from Boeing in the short term. Air Premia’s hybrid behavior also seems to be similar to 787-9. The carrier carried two planes to receive arrivals last week – one on March 25 and another on March 26. To date the aircraft, registered HL8387, had flown five flights out of Paine Field.
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