On Friday, Boeing (BA) said that some 787 Dreamliner deliveries could be delayed after cracks were found in the wings of some planes currently in production.
The “hairline cracks” were discovered in 40 jets. BA indicated that the problem only affects planes in production and that no cracks have been found in 787 Dreamliners already delivered to airlines. BA was alerted to the problem in February by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which is producing some 787 wings for Boeing, Reuters notes.
The cracks may have resulted from a change if Mitsubishi’s production process. Mitsubishi says it its “discussing” how to handle the issue with BA.
BA indicated that the hairline cracks will not prevent it from delivering 110 787 Dreamliner jets to customers in 2014, but noted that some plan deliveries could be delayed by several weeks.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has been notified of the problem and said it is working with BA to ensure that planes delivered to airlines do not contain hairline cracks in their wings.
BA stock fell almost 2% in Monday morning trading. BA stock has gained more than 50% over the past 12 months.
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