Well this isn’t unexpected, but its been coming after some high profile news articles, with the US Federal Aviation Administration announcing they are to launch a review into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – in particular they will be reviewing its design and construction.
It’s important to note at this point, the 787’s that are out in the real world can still fly, and are not grounded as yet.
The FAA states
In light of a series of recent events, the FAA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly. The purpose of the review is to validate the work conducted during the certification process and further ensure that the aircraft meets the FAA’s high level of safety.
A team of both FAA and Boeing engineers will conduct the review, which will also cover an emphasis on the aircraft’s electrical power and distribution systems, and how the electrical and mechanical systems interact with each other.
FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta states:
“We are confident that the aircraft is safe. But we need to have a complete understanding of what is happening,”
and
“We are conducting the review to further ensure that the aircraft meets our high safety standards.”
Boeing has responded quickly stating
Boeing is confident in the design and performance of the 787. It is a safe and efficient airplane that brings tremendous value to our customers and an improved flying experience to their passengers.
The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily. Its in-service performance is on par with the industry’s best-ever introduction into service – the Boeing 777. Like the 777, at 15 months of service, we are seeing the 787′s fleet wide dispatch reliability well above 90 percent.
More than a year ago, the 787 completed the most robust and rigorous certification process in the history of the FAA. We remain fully confident in the airplane’s design and production system.
Regular reviews of program and technical progress are an important part of the validation and oversight process that has created today’s safe and efficient air transportation system. While the 787′s reliability is on par with the best in class, we have experienced in-service issues in recent months and we are never satisfied while there is room for improvement. For that reason, today we jointly announced with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the start of a review of the 787′s recent issues and critical systems.
Within a week there seems to be a rash of 787 incidents, with the big one of course being the fire aboard a Japan Airlines 787 at Boston. Other incidents this week including:
- All Nippon Airways reported a crack in the window on the pilot’s side of the cockpit.
- All Nippon Airways experienced a delay due to an oil leak from a generator inside an engine
- All Nippon Airways e cancelled a 787 flight from Yamaguchi to Tokyo because of a brake problem
- On Tuesday, Japan Airlines cancelled a Boston to Tokyo flight after about 40 gallons (151 litres) of fuel spilled
As well as all the other incidents logged.
The review of the 787 project is welcome – if to ensure the plane that Boeing has built is as safe as it can be. Whilst I don’t advocate grounding the world fleet of 50 787’s at this moment (mainly as we only know little fragments of the story), I would be of the opinion if something is found so critically wrong, the class should be taken out to allow repairs to be conducted.
So I’m going to ask a poll question – a simple Yes or No
Loading ...Your thoughts as always are welcome.