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Since the accident of Boeing 737 Max aircraft in January this year, its manufacturing and engineering capabilities have been questioned. Now the first test flight of Boeing 777X has also encountered problems. Boeing said on Monday that during the first flight test of the wide-body aircraft 777X, it was found that the structure of one of the aircraft was damaged and then grounded the test fleet.

Boeing said in a statement that the damaged part was located between the engine and the fuselage structure, and that it would replace the faulty part and find out the cause of the problem. Flight testing will be resumed once everything is clear. Boeing said that although the company has just started flight testing for certification, its 777-9 test fleet has conducted more than 1,200 flights as part of Boeing's own flight test program, with a total flight time of about 3,500 hours.

As Boeing's latest generation of twin-aisle aircraft, the new wide-body 777X is highly anticipated by the market for its high fuel efficiency and more spacious cabin design. Among them, the 777-9 aircraft is expected to have a range of 13,500 kilometers and can carry 426 passengers in a typical two-cabin layout. According to Air Current, Boeing has received orders for about 480 777-9 aircraft. In addition, the 777X series also has smaller but longer-range 777-8 passenger aircraft and cargo aircraft.

The 777X series, hailed as a more premium alternative to Boeing's four-engine 747 jumbo jet and Airbus A380, has been in development for more than a decade and was originally scheduled to enter the market in 2020. Its customers include Emirates, Qatar Airways and Lufthansa, many of whom have expressed disappointment with delivery delays. Boeing currently has 540 orders for new 777X aircraft, scheduled for delivery in 2025, after Boeing finally began flight testing in July with the assistance of the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

However, the latest test flight failure incident has once again cast a shadow on the company's prospects. It is unclear whether the suspension of test flights and related problems will affect the certification and delivery of new wide-body aircraft. Boeing said it has notified the FAA and its customers of the incident.

The grounding could be another setback for Boeing, given that its certification is already about five years behind schedule. "The grounding could delay 777X delivery expectations, perhaps even into 2026," RBC Capital analyst Ken Herbert wrote in a note Monday.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Emirates Airlines, the aircraft's largest customer, predicted in May that the model would be difficult to obtain certification before the first quarter of 2025 and the company might not receive its first 777-9 until 2026.

He also complained that delays in the delivery of the 777X had forced Emirates to continue using existing aircraft that were scheduled to be replaced.

For Boeing, this year's "bad luck" has come one after another. Previously, Boeing's "whistleblower" engineer Sam Salehpour accused Boeing's 777 and 787 Dreamliners of manufacturing defects that increased the risk of aircraft failure. Salehpour also claimed that he was retaliated by Boeing after making a complaint.

Salehpur said that he had repeatedly reported the problems to Boeing management, but Boeing retaliated against him by transferring him from his original position to the Boeing 777 project. However, in his new position, Salehpur soon discovered that the Boeing 777 also had manufacturing defects and more problems in the way the fuselage was assembled. However, after reporting the manufacturing defects of the 777 to Boeing management, Salehpur was threatened with dismissal.

Salehpur said the quality issues involved more than 1,000 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and more than 400 Boeing 777s. His lawyer said in a statement: "This is a direct result of Boeing's decision in recent years to put profits over safety and the overly compliant attitude of U.S. regulators toward the company."

The New York Times reported that Salehpour had worked at Boeing for more than a decade. Two lawyers said that as a quality engineer, he was responsible for investigating and analyzing defects in Boeing's production process and developing procedures to fix them.

In response to these allegations, Boeing admitted that it had made changes to the manufacturing of the 787 Dreamliner, but denied that these changes would affect the safe service life of the fuselage. Boeing responded in a statement: "The claims regarding the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work the company has done to ensure quality and long-term safety."

The FAA also requested inspections of Boeing 787 Dreamliners on Monday after a LATAM Airlines plane dove mid-air in March, injuring more than 50 passengers. The apparent cause of the dive was the captain's seat moving without command, causing the autopilot to disconnect. The FAA said it had received five reports of similar problems with captain and first officer seats on 787s, two of which are still under investigation.

Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg is trying to get the company out of a safety crisis that began earlier this year. Boeing announced on July 31 that aviation industry veteran Ortberg will take over as CEO on August 8.

Beijing Business Daily Comprehensive Report