SEATTLE – An accident earlier this month that is only now coming to light is adding further doubts that Boeing will meet its goal of making its first 787 delivery to Japan's All Nippon Airways by the end of this year.
A Rolls Royce engine testing facility in Derby, England was damaged after a Trent 1000 engine - the kind that powers the 787 Dreamliner - came apart on a test stand, damaging the facility. It has been unable to test engines since.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which is overseeing the certification of the 787, tells KING 5 News that it is relying on its European equivalent for certification of the British built engines, which currently drive four of the six test aircraft. Two of the six are testing a new engine from U.S.-based General Electric.
Information is still sketchy. A Rolls Royce spokesman told Bloomberg News that the failure of the engine emitted "limited debris into the test facility," adding that the facility should reopen shortly.
While the Rolls Royce engines have flown thousands of hours in Boeing test flights, apparently without incident, the issue involving the failure in England raises questions about the company's ability to provide production model engines for new 787s currently built, awaiting certification and delivery. A number of Dreamliners are parked at Everett's Paine Field, waiting to have the engines mounted.
Michel Merluzeau, an aviation consultant with Kirkand based G2 solutions says he "would not be surprised" with another delay. But he adds he "would be very pleased if they could deliver to ANA on time."
After its ceremonial rollout in Everett on July 8, 2007, Boeing's original schedule had the first delivery to ANA slated for May of 2008. Within months of the rollout, the first of five delays was announced.
This summer, Boeing warned its latest delivery goals could slide into 2011, partly due to structure problems in the plane's tail. Those apparently have been fixed.
Boeing has yet to respond to or phone calls about the potential for delays. Spokeswoman Lori Gunter told Bloomberg the company is "actively participating in the investigation into this event with Rolls-Royce," adding there's been no impact on the flight test program.
