Fastener Issues Still Plague 787 Production
FEATURE
Fastener issues continue to plague Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program.
An “unusual production mishap” on the 787 assembly line in Everett, WA, reveals a continued problem with incomplete fuselage sections from Boeing’s South Carolina facility, according to the Seattle Times.
“During 787 assembly, before the point where all the fuselage sections and wings are joined to make the complete airframe, the fuselage sections are held in place by cradles,” writes Dominic Gates of the Times. “After the join is made, the cradles are lowered and removed.”
However, when mechanics in Everett recently removed the cradles on Dreamliner No. 214, “nearly 100 improperly installed fasteners clattered to the factory floor.”
“A subsequent inspection found the South Carolina team in Everett had installed hundreds of temporary fasteners near the join between the two aft fuselage sections without the collars needed to hold them in place,” according to the Times.
That incident prompted this response from an Everett worker: “If they can’t make sure this is done, what else are they forgetting?”
The worker claimed the error showed a lack of the most basic knowledge and said such work should be routine at this stage in the jet program.
Boeing spokeswoman Debbie Heathers told the Times the 787 program is on track to meet its targeted production rate of 10 airplanes per month.
In an unrelated incident, an Everett employee was seriously injured recently when the head of a Flex Track automatic driller that bores precise holes in the fuselage and installs fasteners fell from the airplane, hitting a mechanic working below the device.
The state’s Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the cause along with Boeing.
As reported in FIN, fasteners have played a prominent role in the nearly three-year delay of Boeing’s new composite 787 Dreamliner, as supply disruptions and improper installation plagued its test aircraft fleet. Web: boeing.com
Click here to read FIN’s exclusive 2011 interview the John Byrne, the Boeing executive in charge of fastener procurement for the aerospace giant.
Related Stories:
• B/E Aerospace to Create Two Separate Companies
There are no comments at the moment, do you want to add one?
Write a comment