It’s been a tough year for Boeing, from a part of a plane exploding mid-flight to astronauts being stranded in space for months on end. In the latest operational setback, the company paused the rollout of a new plane after a worrying issue was found on a test flight.
Accordingly Air CurrentBoeing grounded its 777X test fleet after a routine inspection after a test flight in Hawaii revealed a ruptured thrust link inside one of four test planes. When officials inspected the other planes, they found cracks in the thrust linkages that transfer thrust from the plane’s engines to the pylons that hold the engine to the plane.
“During scheduled maintenance, we identified a component that was not performing as designed,” the company said. Air Current “Our team is replacing the part and recording all information gained from the component and will continue flight testing when ready,” it said in a statement.
Related: Boeing Reveals More Quality Issues on Some Planes
The Boeing 777X rollout has been plagued by delays since it was first announced more than a decade ago. Other planes, such as the infamous 737 Max 9, which lost part of its fuselage earlier this year, are under review by the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure customer safety on all Boeing aircraft.