Aviation
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resuming
FAA authorizes resumption of Boeing 787 Dreamliner deliveries
Boeing 787 Dreamliner
GFDL 1.2, via wikimedia commons
Rafael Ramos
3/13/2023
On Friday, the 10th, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) approved the resumption of deliveries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after concerns about the fuselage of the plane.
Deliveries had been suspended since February 23 because of an "analysis error" related to the aircraft's forward pressure bulkhead. The FAA said it would only allow deliveries to resume after the problem was safely resolved.
The planes should resume their deliveries from this week. The agency must continue to issue certificates of airworthiness and must inspect each plane before it can be delivered by Boeing. The American manufacturer, in turn, claims that no modifications to the aircraft or the production process will need to be made.
"We have completed the necessary review that confirms that the airplane continues to meet all relevant requirements and does not require production or fleet action," Boeing said in a statement.
In this way, the only solution is to update the related documentation to comply with legal requirements.
“The FAA will determine when ticketing and deliveries of the 787 will resume, and we are working with our customers on the delivery schedule,” the airline said.
This is the third time widebody deliveries have needed to be stopped. About 100 787s must undergo extensive rework before being delivered, at a cost of $6.3 billion.
This time, the shutdown seems to have had no major impact on Boeing. Despite this, there was a disagreement between the manufacturer and the supplier of the part, Spirit AeroSystems, about the responsibility for the problem.
The forward pressure bulkhead has already been the subject of another delivery stoppage, as unacceptable gaps were detected in the fuselage joints in the bulkhead. So Boeing replaced the airframe on all affected planes.
During this replacement work, the engineers discovered an error in the structural analysis of the part that had been presented in the certification paperwork some years before. Boeing attributed the error to Spirit. But after reviewing it, Spirit disagreed.
"On February 23, Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787, citing a 'analysis error' by Spirit," the supplier said in a statement. "Based on our review, we are confident that there was not a review error by Spirit."
Boeing has not commented on the case.
At the same time, the company is struggling to increase the jet's production and delivery rate.
Boeing 787
Image: Boeing
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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