Boeing delays Dreamliner release again

CHICAGO, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The delivery of Boeing's first 787 Dreamliner aircraft has been delayed again, this time to the third quarter of 2011, the U.S. aircraft company said Tuesday.

The new delivery date is the result of an in-flight incident during testing in November and factors in time needed to produce, install and test updated software and electrical power distribution panels in the flight test and production airplanes, the company said in a release.

"This revised timeline for first delivery accommodates the work we believe remains to be done to complete testing and certification of the 787," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "We've also restored some margin in the schedule to allow for any additional time that may be needed to complete certification activities."

The next-generation, twin-aisle aircraft was to have been delivered in the first quarter of this year, and had been delayed several times previously by the Chicago-headquartered company.