Boeing's 787 programme chief says there was "no major disruption" to Japanese suppliers supporting the aircraft's production as a result of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on 11 March.
Scott Fancher, 787 vice president and general manager, says operations have resumed and Boeing and suppliers are "analysing the data" to determine if any of the equipment has been affected.
First tier structural suppliers Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji Heavy Industries are centered in Japan's industrial heart in Aichi Prefecture in the south central part of the country.
Japanese suppliers are responsible for 35% of the structural weight of the 787, including the wings, centre wing box, main landing gear wheel well and forward fuselage barrel.
Additionally, Fancher says all staff had been accounted for and the company's 787 Production Integration Centre in Everett, Washington had been monitoring the situation in Japan from the moment it first occurred.
Fancher adds he was notified by email within minutes of the quake, which was centred off the coast of Sendai on the northeast pacific coast.
Nagoya's Chubu Centrair, the primary airport that supports 747 Dreamlifter structural deliveries to its Everett and Charleston, South Carolina facilities, was undamaged in the quake, according to its website.
Fancher supplied the update on Boeing's Japanese suppliers at the opening of the company's 787 change incorporation and refurbishment facility in San Antonio, Texas.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
