COSTLY

Boeing Jet's Weak Wings

787 design flaw more serious than initially thought.

This is no way to inspire confidence in airline passengers. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is already two years overdue, has a grievous flaw in its wings that give it a failing grade from the Federal Aviation Administration. The problem revolves around the amount of stress that the fancy plane's wings can endure. Last week it was mistakenly reported that the plane failed stress tests just above the "ultimate load," meaning that the wings were compromised by an amount of pressure well-above federal regulator's requirements. As it turns out, the wings did not pass the "limit load," or the base requirement defined by the FAA. Boeing engineers have essentially gone back to the drawing board and are beginning the long process of implementing a solution. The Seattle Times reports that Dreamliner will likely not take to the skies until next year.