Boeing Corp said Tuesday it is postponing the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner jet after tests determined the need for reinforcing an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft.

The decision to announce the delay was made late last week, Boeing said in a released statement. It will take several weeks to make a new schedule for the first flight and first delivery as final determinations are made. The need was identified during regularly scheduled tests on the full-scale static test airplane, the company said.

“We are all anxious to see the plane fly but only when it’s ready to fly,” said Scott Carson, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes during a conference call with analysts and reporters.

Other aspects of testing on Airplane #1 will continue, including final gauntlet testing and low-speed taxiing, the company noted. Work will also continue on the other five flight test aircraft and the subsequent aircraft in the production system.