Boeing Corp. halted test flights of its 777X series planes due to a failure of one of the parts located between the engine and the plane's structure, amid concerns about the safety of the company's planes. This was reported by the TV channel CNBC.
„Our team is replacing the part and studying the damaged component. We will resume test flights as soon as we are ready,” the company said in a statement obtained by the TV channel. According to him, Boeing has already alerted the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and customers about the malfunction and the termination of flights of the test fleet of four 777X series aircraft. At the same time, it is not clear how the incident will affect the certification of aircraft of this type planned for 2025, as well as the deliveries, which were supposed to start in 2020, but were postponed several times, the TV channel noted. Boeing says the 777X is “the world's largest wide-body twin-engine airplane” and will seat between 395 and 426 passengers, depending on the model.
According to the TV channel, the corporation is experiencing a “security crisis” since January 2024, when a Boeing 737 MAX 9 owned by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff due to depressurization, losing part of its fuselage. The FAA then ordered a temporary suspension of operations and inspections of the type of aircraft. They lasted six weeks and affected Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactures the plane's fuselage. In March, The New York Times reported that Boeing had failed 33 of 89 FAA inspections.