Boeing is scrapping one of its biggest automation projects after four years of testing in favour of skilled mechanics. The company will dump the robots that build two main fuselage sections for its 777 jetliners and an upgraded version known as the 777X. It will now refer to skilled mechanics to manually insert fasteners into holes drilled along the circumference of the airplane by an automated system known as “flex tracks,” which it has honed over years of use on the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing made the change to use humans on the project during the second quarter of this year.

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