Airbus updates delivery target after finding fuselage issue in A320
The company already had an issue that required a software fix for 6,000 planes over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, disrupting flights.
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Airbus said it will deliver about 30 fewer planes than expected this year after it found a problem with some planes in the A320 family. (Photo Credit: Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo)
Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Airbus dropped its delivery target for the year by 30 planes after it identified a fuselage issue in the A320 line that needs inspection.
The French company said it will deliver around 790 commercial planes this year instead of the 820 original target.
The company already had an issue that required a software fix for 6,000 planes over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, disrupting flights.
About 15 passengers aboard a JetBlue flight on Oct. 31 were hospitalized after the plane suddenly lost altitude. It then made an emergency landing in Tampa, Fla. It was headed to Newark, N.J.
The company then found the issue with metal panels on some of its planes. The inspections need to be done on 628 planes, which includes 168 that are already in service, 245 on assembly lines, and 215 in an earlier stage of production, The Guardian reported.
The parts, metal skins located behind the cockpit on each side of the two forward doors, are the wrong thickness. It's not believed that there are any safety concerns.
"The source of the issue has been identified, contained and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements," an Airbus source told the BBC. "This quality issue does not affect the flight safety of the aircraft in question. Only inspections will determine where an aircraft may have panels with quality issues and the appropriate action to be taken."
Airbus shares have dropped by more than 6.5% in the past week.
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