[onewhippedpuppy]

1. No, the fuselage will have established grounding paths and static wicks to dissipate built up charge. Those are the little straw looking things that protrude from the trailing edge of the wing and tail.

2. Very possible.

It's an airplane of firsts for Boeing. That always brings issues. First built by outsourcing the design and production of major component sub-assemblies. For instance, Spirit Aerosystems builds the nose section. In theory, the completed nose section simply bolts to the fuselage (designed by another supplier), the harnesses connect, and that's it. See potential for issues there? I've worked on a similarly structured program and it was a nightmare. Very difficult to coordinate suppliers around the world that are responsible for complex and interconnected parts. One instance in which outsourcing typically is not worth the trouble, at a minimum Boeing should have done the design work in-house and outsourced manufacturing (IMHO).

It's also Boeing's first carbon composite airplane, which is a major departure from metal planes. Their first airplane that relies on the electrical system for deice and other functions that are normally taken care of by engine bleed air. Any time you do something for the first time there are going to be issues, particularly in something as complex as an airplane. It's just a shame for Boeing that the issues are so public. I'm very curious how these problems did not arise during the flight test program. Schedule pressure on a program that was already years behind was probably a contributing factor.