FAA mandates changes to Boeing 787 Dreamliner

[Tsepz_GP]

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said it was mandating new flight control software and parts to Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner to address what it called an unsafe operating condition of certain products on the plane.

The FAA's new airworthiness directive was prompted by a finding that certain areas in the 787's tire and wheel "threat zones" could be susceptible to damage, resulting in the loss of braking and steering power on the ground at certain speeds.

The FAA said it requires installing hydraulic tubing, a pressure-operated check valve, and new flight control software.

Boeing did not immediately return requests for comment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/faa-mandates-changes-boeing-787-152723256.html

 

[Dave]

Boeing is having a good year...

 

[Gordon_R]

Whistleblower allegations about faulty passenger oxygen supply, and persistent production pressure at the B787 factory:

Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

Former quality manager says Boeing was driven by cost and schedules above safety, which it denies.

www.bbc.com

 

[Gordon_R]

More regulatory capture, B787 composite wings, lightning protection and the FAA. Link may be paywalled:

FAA engineers objected to Boeing’s removal of some 787 lightning protection measures

To protect the wing fuel tank of the 787 in a lightning storm, Boeing originally built in a series of protective measures. Boeing has now dropped some of those protections from the entire 787 wing, drawing complaints from FAA technical...

www.seattletimes.com

 

[HAL 9000]

Boeing to reduce 787 production after identifying new jet issue - eNCA​

Boeing is cutting production on the 787 Dreamliner after identifying a new problem with the plane, the company announced in the latest in a series of setbacks as the aviation giant struggles to fully recover from a lengthy slump.

Boeing said that while inspecting the 787 jets, it "identified additional rework that will be required."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) described the problem as a "manufacturing quality issue near the nose on certain 787 Dreamliners," an agency spokeswoman said.

"Although the issue poses no immediate threat to flight safety, Boeing has committed to fix these airplanes before resuming deliveries," the FAA said, adding that the company also will analyse whether 787s already in service should be modified.

The latest problem increases the headwinds facing Boeing even as the travel industry begins to rebound from the deep downturn caused by COVID-19 and commercial airlines announce significant new plane orders.

The company's shares tumbled on the announcement, falling 4.2 percent to $228.20 at the close of Tuesday's trading, making it the biggest loser in the Dow.

The manufacturer is "reprioritizing production resources for a few weeks" and will reduce 787 production on a "temporary" basis below the current rate of five a month, which is just over a third of the pre-pandemic level of 14 per month.

Boeing expects to deliver fewer than half of the 100 aircraft now in its inventory, while it previously expected "the majority" to be delivered this year.

Boeing to reduce 787 production after identifying new jet issue

Boeing is cutting production on the 787 Dreamliner after identifying a new problem with the plane.

www.enca.com

 

[Gordon_R]

Boeing to reduce 787 production after identifying new jet issue

Boeing is cutting production on the 787 Dreamliner after identifying a new problem with the plane.

www.enca.com

Long-range aviation is stone dead for the near future. I would be surprised if they sell many new aircraft under these circumstances.

 

[HAL 9000]

Boeing Deals With New Dreamliner Defect Amid Production Problems - WSJ​

Aircraft maker, regulators scrutinize titanium parts on 787 Dreamliner; Boeing cites improvements

Boeing Co. is dealing with a new defect on its 787 Dreamliner, the latest in a series of production slip-ups that have delayed aircraft deliveries and drawn increased U.S. government scrutiny.

The new problem involves certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be on 787s built over the past three years, people familiar with the matter said.

The discovery is among other Dreamliner snafus that have left Boeing stuck with more than $25 billion of the jets in its inventory.

Link to paywalled article:

WSJ News Exclusive | Boeing Deals With New Dreamliner Defect Amid Production Problems

The problem involves certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be on 787s built over the past three years, the latest production slip-up to delay aircraft deliveries and draw increased U.S. government scrutiny.

www.wsj.com

 

[Gordon_R]

Boeing Deals With New Dreamliner Defect Amid Production Problems - WSJ​

Aircraft maker, regulators scrutinize titanium parts on 787 Dreamliner; Boeing cites improvements



Link to paywalled article:

WSJ News Exclusive | Boeing Deals With New Dreamliner Defect Amid Production Problems

The problem involves certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be on 787s built over the past three years, the latest production slip-up to delay aircraft deliveries and draw increased U.S. government scrutiny.

www.wsj.com

Not many details available, but the pandemic has floored the aviation industry:

Boeing finds new defect in continuing struggle to produce Dreamliner 787

Boeing Co said on Thursday that some titanium 787 Dreamliner parts were improperly manufactured over the past three years, the latest in a series of problems to plague the wide-body aircraft.

www.reuters.com

 

[airborne]

Boeing Deals With New Dreamliner Defect Amid Production Problems - WSJ​

Aircraft maker, regulators scrutinize titanium parts on 787 Dreamliner; Boeing cites improvements



Link to paywalled article:

WSJ News Exclusive | Boeing Deals With New Dreamliner Defect Amid Production Problems

The problem involves certain titanium parts that are weaker than they should be on 787s built over the past three years, the latest production slip-up to delay aircraft deliveries and draw increased U.S. government scrutiny.

www.wsj.com

Only $25billion worth of unsold planes that no one really wants, not bad!

How much does the US government bail out Boeing, they seem to get a few nice "restructuring" deals when things go awry?

 

[HAL 9000]

FAA memo reveals more Boeing 787 manufacturing defects, including contamination of carbon fibre composites - The Seattle Times​

The litany of manufacturing defects on the 787 Dreamliner is expanding as Boeing engineers take apart planes and discover new or more widespread issues, a Federal Aviation Administration internal memo indicates.

The FAA memo, which was circulated internally Monday and reviewed by The Seattle Times, points to new concerns about a previously unreported defect caused by contamination of the carbon fibre composite material during fabrication of the large structures that make up the 787’s wing, fuselage and tail.

The memo also adds detail about the small out-of-tolerance gaps that have been discovered throughout the airplane structure: at the joins of the large fuselage sections, at a forward pressure bulkhead and in the structure surrounding the passenger and cargo doors.

The FAA memo, which lists safety conditions affecting airplanes currently in service worldwide, states that these tiny gap defects are thought to be present in more than 1,000 Dreamliners. These are not considered an immediate safety concern but could cause premature aging of the airframe.

“We’re looking at the undelivered airplanes nose to tail, and we have found areas where the manufacturing does not conform to the engineering specifications,” a Boeing spokesperson said Friday. “None of these issues is an immediate safety-of-flight issue.”

Those planes currently in service can be inspected and reworked later during routine maintenance, the spokesperson said.

However, complicating the process, the FAA memo states that Boeing doesn’t have the detailed configuration data on each plane to know which may have the defects.

It’s unclear if coming up with fixes that will satisfy the FAA will further delay resumption of 787 deliveries into next year.

Such a delay could increase the total cost to get the 787 program back on track above Boeing’s previous $1 billion estimate and would risk an accounting write-off in the fourth quarter.

FAA memo reveals more Boeing 787 manufacturing defects, including contamination of carbon fiber composites

An FAA memo points to new concerns about a previously unreported defect caused by contamination of the carbon fiber composite material during fabrication of the large structures that make up the 787's wing, fuselage and tail.

www.seattletimes.com

 

[Y'all Qaeda]

Boeing is having a good year...

Depends. You can get aircraft tires from other manufacturers as well.

 

[Dave]

Depends. You can get aircraft tires from other manufacturers as well.

LOL

A little necromancy with a funny

 

[The_Librarian]

Depends. You can get aircraft tires from other manufacturers as well.

Taxi tyres will work just as well.

 

[HAL 9000]

Boeing sinks to $US4.2b loss as Dreamliner problems escalate - The Sydney Morning Herald​

Boeing reported a $US4.16 billion ($5.8 billion) loss for the fourth quarter as the financial fallout of production flaws in one of its best-selling planes, the 787 Dreamliner, grew much worse.

The company’s shares dropped as the manufacturer recorded $US5.5 billion in total costs to cover higher factory and customer expenses for the Dreamliner.

The rising toll for halted deliveries of the carbon fibre 787 has wiped away any near-term profit for the marquee wide-body jet.

Boeing sinks to $US4.2b loss as Dreamliner problems escalate

The company’s shares dropped as the manufacturer recorded $US5.5 billion in total costs to cover higher factory and customer expenses for the Dreamliner.

www.smh.com.au

 

[HAL 9000]

Regulators Won't Let Boeing Certify New 787 Jets for Flight​

Federal safety officials aren't ready to give back authority for approving new planes to Boeing when it comes to the large 787 jet, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner.

Federal safety regulators say they will retain power to approve Boeing 787 airliners for flight rather than return that authority to the aircraft maker, which hasn't been able to deliver any new Dreamliner planes since last May because of production flaws.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it told Boeing of its decision Tuesday.

The FAA said that once deliveries of 787s resume, it will perform final inspections and retain power to clear each new plane until it is confident that Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing “consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards.” It also said Boeing must have a plan for handling planes that need reworking.

“This will allow the agency to confirm the effectiveness of measures Boeing has undertaken to improve the 787 manufacturing process,” the FAA said in a statement.

For years, the FAA has relied on Boeing employees to certify the airworthiness of planes by deputizing some company employees to act on behalf of the agency.

The practice came under intense criticism after two deadly crashes involving Boeing 737 Max jets and revelations that FAA officials knew little about a key flight control systems implicated in the crashes.

The 787, a larger plane than the 737, has been plagued by production flaws such as unacceptable gaps between fuselage panels. Deliveries were stopped briefly in late 2020, then again in May 2021 and have not resumed.

Boeing has more than 100 undelivered 787s. The halt in shipments has deprived Chicago-based Boeing Co. of cash that airlines pay when they receive new planes.

Boeing, afraid of appearing to pressure the FAA to resume deliveries, has declined to give investors an idea of when 787 shipments might resume.

A spokeswoman said Tuesday, “We will continue to engage with the FAA to ensure we meet their expectations and all applicable requirements.”

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-02-15/regulators-wont-let-boeing-certify-new-787-jets-for-flight

 

[HAL 9000]

When Boeing 787 deliveries resume, FAA will certify each plane itself - The Seattle Times​

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed Boeing Tuesday that, when it finally approves resumption of deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner, the agency will perform final inspections on each newly built jet before issuing an airworthiness certificate that approves the plane to carry passengers.

That power to issue those individual airworthiness certificates is routinely delegated to the manufacturer. But the quality problems afflicting the 787 manufacturing process prompted the FAA to withhold that authority from Boeing.

“This will allow the agency to confirm the effectiveness of measures Boeing has undertaken to improve the 787 manufacturing process,” the FAA said in a statement.

The move means airworthiness certificates for the 787 will be issued similarly to those for the 737 MAX, which was grounded in 2019 after two deadly crashes.

Ever since the FAA approved the MAX to return to service in December 2020, following the Boeing fix to the flight control system that led to the crashes, the FAA has inspected each MAX before delivery.

The problems for the 787 first surfaced in fall 2020 with the discovery of manufacturing defects, including very small gaps at structural joins that were outside Boeing’s tight specifications.

Since October 2020, Boeing has delivered just 14 Dreamliners and 110 of the jets had piled up at the end of 2021, all requiring substantial rework to repair the defects.

Last month, Boeing estimated that the cost of the extended delivery halt had soared to $5.5 billion.

The MAX and the 787 are the two airliners for which Boeing hopes to achieve its highest production and delivery rates.

Once the FAA permits 787 deliveries to resume, deliveries of both jets are likely to be slowed by this additional FAA scrutiny.

The FAA said Tuesday it will retain the certificate issuance authority on the 787 until it is confident that:

• Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards.

• Boeing has a robust plan for the rework that it must perform on a large volume of new 787s in storage.

• Boeing’s delivery processes are stable.

Responding to the FAA move Tuesday, Boeing in a statement said, “We respect the FAA’s role as our regulator and we will continue to work transparently through their detailed and rigorous processes.”

“We will continue to engage with the FAA to ensure we meet their expectations and all applicable requirements,” the statement added.

Read the full article at the link below:

When Boeing 787 deliveries resume, FAA will certify each plane itself

When the FAA finally approves resumption of Boeing 787 deliveries, it will insist on performing final inspections on each newly built jet before delivery.

www.seattletimes.com

 

[HAL 9000]

Boeing Looked for Flaws in Its Dreamliner and Couldn’t Stop Finding Them​

Under pressure from the FAA, the plane maker increased scrutiny of its manufacturing; ‘What happens when you take a microscope to anything?’

For years, Boeing Co. and the Federal Aviation Administration handled 787 Dreamliner deliveries as though the perfect was the enemy of the good.

The FAA allowed the plane maker to deliver the wide-body jets with some minor flaws, so long as there was no immediate threat to safety.

The expectation was that Boeing would fix such defects after the planes began carrying passengers, according to government officials and current and former Boeing executives.

Link to article (hidden behind paywall):

Boeing Looked for Flaws in Its Dreamliner and Couldn’t Stop Finding Them

Under pressure from the FAA, the plane maker increased scrutiny of its manufacturing. The result has been a string of Dreamliner delays that have become headaches for both Boeing and the airlines waiting for delivery. “What happens when you take a microscope to anything?”

www.wsj.com

 

[HAL 9000]

Exclusive: U.S. FAA finds Boeing 787 certification documents incomplete -sources - Reuters​

U.S. air-safety regulators have told Boeing Co (BA.N) the documentation it submitted to win approval to resume 787 deliveries to airlines after a year is incomplete, two people familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified a number of omissions in Boeing's documentation, submitted in late April, and has sent portions of it back to the planemaker, one of the people said.


A second person said it was too early to say whether FAA concerns would lead to a new delay in resuming deliveries, which have been suspended for the past year due to production flaws.

Exclusive: U.S. FAA finds Boeing 787 certification documents incomplete -sources

U.S. air-safety regulators have told Boeing Co the documentation it submitted to win approval to resume 787 deliveries to airlines after a year is incomplete, two people familiar with the matter said.

www.reuters.com

 

[AntennaMan]

Exclusive: U.S. FAA finds Boeing 787 certification documents incomplete -sources - Reuters​

View attachment 1308482

Exclusive: U.S. FAA finds Boeing 787 certification documents incomplete -sources

U.S. air-safety regulators have told Boeing Co the documentation it submitted to win approval to resume 787 deliveries to airlines after a year is incomplete, two people familiar with the matter said.

www.reuters.com

Without knowing in what way the documents are "incomplete", this smacks of sensationalism. Boeing probably had to submit hundreds of documents to the FAA, and even a single missing signature might mark the document pack as being incomplete.

 

[DapperDanMan]

Mankind has known for a very long time that 787 is not considered as lucky as 777 ...