Why Boeing Quietly Embedded Its Own Executive Inside Rolls-Royce's Factory To Fix The 787's Engine

Boeing has reportedly placed a senior executive—who led the 737 MAX program—directly inside Rolls-Royce’s Derby factory, a move driven by a fast-growing crisis around the 787 Dreamliner’s Trent 1000 engines. The decision reflects a breakdown in the usual boundary between airframe makers and engine suppliers after incidents of inflight turbine damage revealed durability problems in the engine core. Industry reports cited by the Seattle Times and IndustryWeek say severe cracking on intermediate pressure compressor blades was found in preliminary inspections, affecting about 25% of the global 787 fleet. Boeing engineers must retrofit 383 engines, a program projected to last up to four years.