Seattle:
Boeing said a body panel fell off of a 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India while the plane was in flight on Saturday, a new problem for the high-tech jet that has suffered a string of mishaps since its introduction two years ago.
Boeing said the loss of the fuselage panel posed no safety risk to passengers. It was not immediately known where the panel landed.
The jet was carrying 148 people, including crew, on a flight from Delhi to Bangalore. The pilots did not realize the eight-by-four-foot panel was missing until after the flight landed, the newspaper said, adding that aviation authorities are investigating the matter.
Boeing said the missing panel fell from the underside of the plane on the right side. A photo on an Indian website showed a large opening with components and aircraft structure visible inside.
"It was the mid-underwing-to-body fairing located on the belly of the airplane on the right side," Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said. The part "provides a more aerodynamic surface in flight."
He said Boeing is working to understand what caused the panel to fall and declined to say whether the plane was made at Boeing's South Carolina factory. A number of Air India jets have come from that assembly line.
Problems that have afflicted the 787 include battery overheating that prompted regulators to ground the entire fleet in January. Flights resumed in April. Despite the problems, Boeing's stock has stayed near record levels. It closed Tuesday at $118.18, down $1.28.
© Thomson Reuters 2013