Boeing has paused the testing of its newest aircraft, the Boeing 777-9 (777X) and a structural component was found to have failed in a post flight inspection.
According to industry magazine, The Air Current, Boeing discovered a “severed thrust link” in a routine inspection after the aircraft had flown from Hawaii.
In a statement Boeing said “During scheduled maintenance, we identified a component that did not perform as designed.
“Our team is replacing the part and capturing any learnings from the component and will resume flight testing when ready,”
The thrust link is described by Boeing as a structural component between the engine and the aircraft structure.
Boeing explained that the aircraft had redundancy on its GE9X engines, which each produce 105,000lbs of thrust, as there are two of them.
The company went on to say “We are inspecting the flight-test fleet for this condition.
“No near-term flight tests were planned on the other flight-test airplanes, which have scheduled maintenance and lay-up activities,”
Originally slated for certification in 2021, the Boeing 777X has faced a raft of delays particularly with its engines, with the first deliveries now not expected until 2025.