Yet another roadblock for the Boeing Dreamliner

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) has hit yet another snag in its 787 Dreamliner program, now its the fuselage sections that will most likely delay the first test flight.
Boeing confirmed Friday that in June it instructed an Italian company, Alenia Aeronautica, to stop making fuselage sections for the aircraft after small wrinkles were discovered in the carbon composite skin that covers them.  Boeing shares finished the day down 3.7% for $44 a share, come Monday, expect shares to fall even more.

Howard A. Rubel, an analyst at Jefferies & Company, said Alenia had a lot of experience with composite materials, and the latest problem sounded “more like a question of sloppiness.” But, he said, “You kind of look at the issues with the plane, and you say, ‘When is this going to stop being a problem?’ ”

The order to stop production came the same day Boeing announced that the 787’s first flight would be delayed indefinitely to fix a structural flaw where the wings join the fuselage.

A spokeswoman, Lori Gunter, said Friday that Boeing had created a patch to fix the wrinkling problem on the mid-fuselage section. She said the company had not disclosed the problem in June because it was not expected to affect the plane’s overall cost or production schedule.

Time will tell Boeing shareholders.

SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/15/business/15boeing.html?hpw