Aviation Week reports, “Cracks in engine attachment components that have stalled Boeing’s 777-9 certification program were found in a fourth test aircraft that has not flown in nearly three years, Aviation Week has learned. The latest discovery, on WH004, is expected to help narrow down Boeing’s investigation into the failures in the thrust links—assemblies that connect the airframe with the aircraft’s GE Aerospace GE9X engines.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: Boeing 777
Boeing’s 777-9 Certification Program Paused to Address Engine Component Crack
Aviation Week reports, “Cracks in engine attachment components that have stalled Boeing’s 777-9 certification program were found in a fourth test aircraft that has not flown in nearly three years, Aviation Week has learned. The latest discovery, on WH004, is expected to help narrow down Boeing’s investigation into the failures in the thrust links—assemblies that connect the airframe with the aircraft’s GE Aerospace GE9X engines.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Boeing Pauses 777-9 Test Flights Due to Structural Component Issue
Flight Global reports Boeing confirms it “has halted flight tests of its entire 777-9 test fleet after discovering the failure of an engine-related structural component, , marking a setback to the widebody’s already delayed certification programme.”
Full Story (Flight Global)
Demand for Freighters Expected in Years to Come
Aviation Week reports that Airbus is predicting that shippers “will need 560 widebody freighters of more than 80-ton capacity from 202-41. Boeing expects demand for 515 widebody freighters over the same period.” Although much of this demand will reportedly “be satisfied by new-make cargo aircraft…new ventures are moving steadily toward converting Boeing 777s to meet the requirements for heavy cargo aircraft.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
IAI to Open Boeing 777 Freighter Conversion Line in South Korea
Aviation Week reports that Israel Aerospace Industries, in collaboration with MRO firm Sharp Technics K, will open a passenger-to-freight conversion line in South Korea using Boeing 777-300ER passenger airliners as feedstock to produce 777-ERSF aircraft.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
EASA, Boeing Reach Understanding on 777X Certification
Aviation Week reports that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and The Boeing Company “have reached an understanding on common mode failure certification criteria for the large new twinjet.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Boeing Pauses 777 Testing After Engine Issue
FlightGlobal reports that The Boeing Company “has halted its 777-9 flight-test programme due to a problem involving a flight-test aircraft’s GE Aerospace GE9X turbofan, prompting engine evaluations by GE.” Both companies confirm “the flight-test pause but provide few details about the problem, leaving the extent of the issue and its potential impact on the 777-9’s certification timeline unclear.” GE says it “discovered the problem, later found to involve temperatures, following a borescope inspection.” Boeing’s 777-9 certification program “is already substantially delayed, with Boeing most recently – in April – pushing its expected first 777-9 delivery back two years, to 2025.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
United Plans to Gradually Reintroduce Boeing 777s Powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000
FlightGlobal reports, “At the end of this month, United Airlines plans to begin ‘gradually’ reintroducing to service its 52 Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered Boeing 777s that have been grounded since February 2021.” United “said on 13 May that it expects to once again use the aircraft for revenue services from 26 May, pending approval by” the FAA.
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
FAA to Release Return-to-Service Requirements for P&W-Powered 777s
Aviation Week reports that the FAA “will soon release draft final rules that detail…return-to-service requirements for Pratt & Whitney-powered Boeing 777s, adopting Boeing-recommended nacelle modifications and new Pratt-developed fan blade inspection protocols.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Boeing Comes Up With Fix to Strengthen 777 Engine Covers
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports that The Boeing Company has come up with a fix to strengthen engine covers similar to the one that disintegrated on a United Airlines 777 jet after it took off from Denver in February. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in congressional testimony Wednesday that Boeing and Pratt & Whitney are working with the agency to prevent the breakup of engine covers.
Full Story (Wall Street Journal)
