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US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has halted test-flights of its 777X twin-engine jetliner after post-flight inspections identified failures of crucial parts on three out of four test aircraft, industry outlet the Air Current reported on Monday, citing sources.
According to the aviation news service, a titanium thrust link, part of the structure that mounts the engine to the aircraft, was found severed on one jet following a test-flight in Hawaii. Further inspections found similar faults on two more aircraft, the Air Current cited two people familiar with the matter as saying.
“Our team is replacing the part and capturing any learnings from the component and will resume flight testing when ready,” Boeing confirmed to Air Current in an emailed statement.
The 777X’s engines are the largest and most powerful ever built, measuring nearly 3.5 meters in diameter and weighing 11 tons each.
Also on Monday, the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections of another Boeing aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner. In an incident in March, a 787 jet went into a sudden mid-air dive, leaving more than 50 passengers injured.
A number of flaws have been discovered in Boeing aircraft in recent months, leading to safety concerns and investigations.
In July, the company agreed to pay a fine of $243.6 million and plead guilty to fraud for its attempts to conceal faults with the stability system responsible for 2018 and 2019 crashes that killed nearly 350 people.
Under the plea deal, the manufacturer has agreed to invest at least $455 million over the next three years to improve its safety and compliance programs and submit to a three-year probation by a special monitor appointed by the US government.