A All
Nippon Airways' Boeing 787 Dreamliner is pulled by a towing tractor
at Tokyo's
Haneda airport on January 16, 2013 (AFP, Yoshikazu Tsuno)
|
WASHINGTON
— Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is suffering serious teething problems that have
grounded the plane in Japan and stoked market concerns about the US aerospace
giant.
All Nippon
Airways grounded its 787 fleet Wednesday after smoke in an electrical compartment
forced an emergency landing, pending safety checks. Japan Airlines followed
suit.
The two
Japanese airlines account for roughly half of the 787s already in service, and
Boeing had hoped their fleets would serve as a shop window for a new model on which
it has staked much of its business strategy.
It was the
seventh safety incident with the high-tech plane -- marketed by Boeing as the
fuel-efficient future of aviation -- experienced by ANA and JAL in less than
two weeks.
The mishaps
included a fire in an unoccupied stationary aircraft, fuel leaks and a cracked
cockpit windshield.
Until now
the rash of problems had not dented investor confidence in the aerospace giant.
Since the first incident this year, on January 7, until the market closed
Tuesday, Boeing's share value had climbed 0.6 percent.
But on
Wednesday, Boeing shares plunged more than 3.0 percent in morning trade in New
York, weighing heavily on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
"The
one thing that must send shudders through Boeing Co. management and its board
is that the 787 Dreamliner could be taken out of service because of a series of
accidents," said Douglas McIntyre of 24/7WallSt.com.
"Boeing
engineers, aircraft experts and several Wall Street analysts have defended
problems with the jet as routine for a new airplane. The power of those
defenses is now over," he added, in a research note.
Boeing has
staked its future on the all-new aircraft, which is heavily equipped with
electronics and is 50 percent made with composite materials to boost fuel
efficiency.
The
Chicago-based company has ramped up 787 production to five airplanes per month
and plans to make 10 a month by late 2013.
Boeing,
which touts the 787 as the most successful commercial plane launch in the
company's history, says it has more than 800 unfilled orders with 58 customers
worldwide.
Boeing 787
Dreamliner (AFP/Graphic)
|
24/7WallSt's
McIntyre warned that the pileup of incidents could threaten Boeing's order
book.
"Boeing
must now contend with the issue that other large airlines that use the
Dreamliner, or are about to take delivery, will ground the planes as
well."
Rich Smith
at The Motley Fool said "the facts about the Dreamliner's safety are
starting to stack up -- and not in Boeing's favor."
Smith noted
that the nearly 850 Dreamliners sold around the globe represent one out of
every five airplanes in Boeing's mammoth 4,373-plane-long order backlog.
"None
of this -- needless to say -- is going to be particularly good news for
Boeing's 787 sales force," he added.
US
regulators announced Friday an in-depth safety review of Boeing's 787
Dreamliner after an unusual number of safety incidents.
The Federal
Aviation Administration said it was working with Boeing to fully review the
critical systems of the 787, and both the FAA and Boeing expressed confidence
in the plane.
After the
ANA emergency landing, the FAA said it was "monitoring a preliminary
report" of the incident and said it would be included in the FAA review of
critical systems, including design, manufacture and assembly
Separately,
the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday it was sending an
investigator to Japan to assist in the investigation of the incident being led
by the Japan Transport Safety Board.
Deutsche
Bank analysts said: "The hits just keep coming for the 787."
"The
bigger issue is that FAA and Boeing want to walk away with 1) a safe airplane
and 2) credibility in the initial certification process," they said.
Barclays
analysts highlighted that with limited data and company commentary amid ongoing
investigations in the US and Japan, "it could be difficult for shares to
gain near-term traction."
Related Articles:
Boeing crisis deepens as Dreamliners grounded worldwide
787 emergency landing: Japan grounds entire Boeing Dreamliner fleet
Boeing crisis deepens as Dreamliners grounded worldwide
787 emergency landing: Japan grounds entire Boeing Dreamliner fleet
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