The FAA has warned Boeing that its 777X aircraft is not ready for inspection and that it will not certify it until late 2023.
According to reports from the Seattle Times and Reuters, a letter sent from the FAA to Boeing during May lists a number of issues with the 777X, the world’s largest twin-engined jet in the world, when rejecting a Boeing request for Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) Readiness.
The letter reportedly cites that a lack of data and a preliminary safety assessment as concerns preventing the authorization, including software issues with flight control following an uncommanded pitch event during a test flight in December last year.
Development of the 777X, which is powered by the GE9X, started in 2011 and was initially planned to enter into service in 2020. Boeing delayed that date to 2023 in a results announcement in January.
The aircraft is essentially a stretched 777 with new engines and an extended carbon-fiber wing that features innovative folding wingtips, a first for a commercial airliner.
The folding wingtips allow it to fit in at airport gates and hangars that Boeing’s successful 777 widebody airliner currently uses, while enabling it to be larger than its predecessor and therefore carry more passengers.
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