Manufacturing defect leads Boeing to ground several 787 jets

Boeing has found manufacturing defects on a few of its 787 long-range airliners in areas where elements of the fuselage are joined together, the most recent setback for the aircraft maker whose 737 Max continues to be grounded after two deadly crashes.

The business said Friday that eight planes should be inspected and repaired before they are permitted to fly, and it contacted the airlines, which removed those planes from service.

Boeing declined to recognize the airlines involved, but United Airlines, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines confirmed that all has one plane grounded for inspection.

Boeing Co. said that it uncovered “two distinct manufacturing issues” toward the trunk of certain 787s which means the planes don’t meet design standards. The business said it notified the Federal Aviation Administration and is wanting to determine the reason behind the problem.

The issue was initially reported by The Air Current, which said it had been the first known instance of a structural problem with the plane’s mostly carbon-fiber fuselage triggering Boeing to tell airlines to ground 787s.

The 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, entered service at many airlines in 2011 and became favored by airlines for longer routes as a result of size and fuel efficiency. Boeing has delivered almost 1,000 of these.

In 2013, when there were about 50 787s operating, the planes were grounded worldwide for three months after battery packs on two of them overheated, including a Japan Airlines 787 that was parked at Boston’s Logan Airport. Regulators allowed 787s to resume flying after Boeing redesigned the housing around lithium-ion batteries used for auxiliary power systems like the electrical system in the cockpit.

This past year, Singapore Airlines grounded two of its 787s after discovering that fan blades on some Rolls Royce engines deteriorated faster than expected.