The FAA approved Boeing’s proposal to require specific inspections to verify the plane’s condition meets requirements and that all work has been completed, a move that should allow Boeing ( BA ) to resume deliveries to in August after stopping them in May 2021, according to the sources. said
On July 17, Boeing told reporters it was “very close” to restarting 787 deliveries.
The FAA referred questions about the approval to Boeing. “We do not comment on ongoing certifications,” the agency said.
Boeing did not confirm the approval Friday, but said it “will continue to work transparently with the FAA and our customers to resume 787 deliveries.”
Boeing has faced production problems with the 787 for more than two years. In September 2020, the FAA said it was “investigating manufacturing defects” in about 787 airliners.
In the wake of two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, the FAA pledged to scrutinize Boeing more closely and delegate less responsibility for aircraft certification to Boeing.
Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 after the FAA raised concerns about the proposed inspection method. The FAA had previously issued two airworthiness directives to address production problems for in-service airplanes and identified a new problem in July 2021.
Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said on an investor call this week that it had 120 of the 787s in inventory and was “making progress in completing the rework required to prepare them for delivery.” Boeing “is producing at very low rates and we will continue to do so until deliveries resume, gradually returning to 5 aircraft per month over time.”
The plane maker had only resumed deliveries in March 2021 after a five-month hiatus before halting them again. Friday’s approval came after lengthy discussions with the FAA.
The regulator had said it wanted Boeing to provide assurances that it “has a robust plan for the rework it must perform on a large volume of new 787s in storage” and that “Boeing’s delivery processes are stable.”
The FAA said in February that it would retain the authority to issue certificates of airworthiness until it was confident that “Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards.”
The agency’s then-administrator, Steve Dickson, told Reuters in February that the FAA needed from Boeing “a systemic solution to its production processes.”
A plane built for American Airlines ( AAL ) is likely to be the first 787 delivered by Boeing since May 2021, according to sources. That could come as soon as next month. American Airlines said in an earnings call last week that it expects to take delivery of nine 787s this year, including two in early August.
Boeing disclosed in January a $3.5 billion charge due to 787 delivery delays and customer concessions, and another $1 billion in abnormal production costs stemming from production defects and related repairs and inspections.