Boeing: Still no timetable for more 787 flights

Boeing Co. said it's bringing two of its six 787 Dreamliner test jets back to Seattle, where the fleet will remain parked as the investigation continues into a fire during a test flight a week ago.

The company is still evaluating the potential effect of the incident on the Dreamliner's certification and delivery schedule, Chicago-based Boeing said in a statement today. The plane is almost three years behind schedule.

Boeing is still investigating the failure of the power panel that caused the Nov. 9 electrical fire, said Lori Gunter, a spokeswoman. Workers have finished inspecting the jet and are replacing the panel and insulation blanket that burned and repairing composite-plastic support bars on the inside of the fuselage, she said.

Flights have been suspended for a week, after the fire in a bay under the cabin floor knocked out some controls, forcing an emergency landing in Laredo, Texas. The Dreamliner is the first composite-plastic airliner and uses an all-electric system to save on fuel. The plane's commercial debut has been delayed six times as Boeing struggles with the new materials, parts shortages, redesign work and a greater reliance on suppliers.

The 787 has been flying since December 2009 in tests toward certification for passenger service, which is targeted for the first quarter of 2011. The fleet is based in Seattle, and the six planes fly around the world in search of various weather conditions for tests required by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

One of the jets will be flown back today from South Dakota, where it had been refueling the day the incident happened, and another from California. The FAA approved the plan after the planes' aft electronics bays were inspected, Boeing said, adding that no tests will be performed during the return flights.

Two other Dreamliners were already at Seattle's Boeing Field. A third is at Boeing's wide-body aircraft factory in Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle, where it's undergoing scheduled maintenance, Gunter said.

The fire, which broke out as the second plane in the fleet was preparing to land in Laredo after a test flight, lasted less than 30 seconds, Boeing said. The total duration of the incident was less than 90 seconds, and the backup system that kicked in would have been good enough to return the plane to an airport from any point in a typical 787 mission profile, Boeing said.

The “minor structural damage” will be fixed using standard techniques from the plane's repair manual, Boeing said, adding that crews are still evaluating the timeline for the repairs to be completed.

The 787's fuselage is made from carbon-fiber strands woven around composite support stringers laid along a cylindrical form and baked in an autoclave oven. It requires different repair methods than traditional aluminum aircraft. Maintenance workers can either bolt on new material or add and cure new layers of composites. Gunter declined to give details about how the damaged plane would be fixed.