Airlines forced to ground eight 787 Dreamliners after Boeing discovers ‘manufacturing issue’

A total of eight recently-manufactured 787 Dreamliners have been yanked from the skies after Boeing said the batch of aircraft left the assembly line with potentially dangerous flaws.

Boeing informed United Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada that aircraft they were operating suffered from a manufacturing issue that affected the strength of the jet’s carbon fiber composite structure. The American firm confirmed the issue to aviation outlet the Air Current, stating that the current condition of the planes “does not meet our design standards.”

So far, eight Dreamliners operated by United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Air Canada have been grounded and are receiving necessary repairs. 

Singapore Airlines told Reuters that one of its 787s had been pulled from service, and that it was working with Boeing on a “solution” to the issue. 

The manufacturing flaw is just the latest in a string of issues affecting the Boeing aircraft. The Dreamliner was grounded globally in 2013 after two planes experienced battery problems. A batch of 787s was grounded five years later after some aircraft were found to have faulty engine blades. 

More recently, Boeing’s 737 Max has been plagued by technical issues. The plane has been grounded since March 2019, following two deadly crashes attributed to buggy flight-control software. 

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