Additional information has been released regarding an incident which took place back in September involving the "blow out" of a door during Boeing 777X static test plane.
The incident in which a door exploded outwards during a high-pressure ground stress test resulted in Boeing suspending load testing for its 777X.
The company kept quiet about the incident at the time but now has confirmed that the fuselage of the test aircraft suffered a high-pressure rupture just as it approached its ultimate load required to certify the jet.
In a statement to The Seattle Times - which first reported the incident back in September - Boeing spokesperson Paul Bergman said: “During final load testing on the 777X static test airplane, the team encountered an issue that required suspension of the test."
In a new report by The Seattle Times, the newspaper has revealed additional information on the incident, rectifying certain crucial details reported previously.
The final load trial of the 777X static test airplane (built for ground testing only) involved flexing the aircraft’s wings beyond the expected level during normal commercial flights. Just as the test approached its target stress level, a failure occurred.
It has also been said that the door that blew out and fell to the factory floor was, in fact, a passenger door (not cargo, as reported prior) and was a secondary impact of the initial rupture that tore through the fuselage, located far below the door.
Boeing currently targets first flight of the 777X in early 2020 and the first airplane to be delivered to an airline in 2021.