Boeing Grounds Test Fleet After Issue Found in Engine

Between a plane part blowing out mid-flight to astronauts being stranded in space for months on its spacecraft, it’s been a tough year for Boeing. In the latest operational setback, the company is pausing the rollout of a new aircraft after a test flight found a concerning issue. 

According to The Air Current, Boeing has grounded 777X test fleet after a routine inspection after a test flight in Hawaii uncovered a severed thrust link inside one of the four test planes. As officials investigated other aircraft, they found that two other test planes had cracks in the thrust links, which transfer thrust from the plane’s engines to the pylons that secure the engine to the plane. 

“During scheduled maintenance, we identified a component that did not perform as designed,” the company confirmed to The Air Current in a statement. “Our team is replacing the part and capturing any learnings from the component and will resume flight testing when ready.”

Related: Boeing Uncovers More Quality Issues With Certain Aircraft

The Boeing 777X rollout has been plagued by delayed since first being announced more than a decade ago. Other planes, such as the infamous 737 Max 9 that lost part of its body at the beginning of this year, have been under scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure customer safety aboard all Boeing aircraft.