Inspections of Boeing 787 Emergency-Locator Transmitters Show Problems: WSJ

Updated July 26, 2013, 5:19 p.m. ET

By JON OSTROWER and YOSHIO TAKAHASHI

The Wall Street Journal

Inspections of Boeing Co. 787s found problems with the wires in three jets' emergency-locator transmitters, ANA Holdings Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. said Friday.

The findings come as Europe's air-safety regulator joined its U.S. and Japanese counterparts in recommending inspections of the devices.

All Nippon Airways Co., which operates two of the three jets, said it found the wiring damage in an inspection following a fire earlier this month on an Ethiopian Airlines 787 parked at London's Heathrow Airport. British investigators are examining the emergency transmitter as a possible cause or contributor of the July 12 fire, which caused significant damage in the ceiling of the jet.

The transmitters are used to find a jet in the event of a crash.

A spokeswoman for United said inspections of its fleet of six 787s are now complete but it found one defective transmitter with a "pinched wire" in an emergency-locator transmitter, or ELT, which has been sent back to supplier Honeywell International Inc. for evaluation.

There was no disruption to United's flight schedule as a result of the inspections, and 787 continue to fly with ELTs installed, the spokeswoman said.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a directive Thursday instructing U.S. Dreamliner operators to remove or inspect ELTs in response to the London accident, following recommendations by the U.K. investigators into the Heathrow fire. Japan's transport ministry followed suit, issuing similar instructions, and on Friday the European Aviation Safety Agency followed with its own matching recommendation.

An FAA spokeswoman declined to comment on the findings from ANA and United, but said it continues to monitor findings that are reported to the plane maker.

A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on the ANA and United findings. Boeing has delivered 70 Dreamliners to global operators since 2011.

ANA and Japan Airlines Co. had already started their own inspections ahead of the guidance from regulators. ANA said it completed checking of its ELTs, while JAL said the work on its 10 Dreamliners is expected to be completed by Sunday.

ANA, the world's biggest operator of 787s, with 20 in its fleet, found damage to the rubber covering on the battery wires of one of the 787's ELTs and one replacement unit not aboard an aircraft.

ANA removed eight ELTs from Dreamliners used on Japanese domestic flights, as well as inspecting the replacements. ANA will report the damage to Japan's transport ministry and Honeywell, an ANA spokesman said. It was unclear whether the finding was related to the fire aboard the Ethiopian Airlines 787, he said.

Spokesmen for European 787 operators Norwegian Air Shuttle SA, LOT Polish Airlines, Thomson Airways and British Airways said they have removed the ELTs from their aircraft. LOT and Norwegian said the units weren't found to be damaged, and LOT and British Airways didn't detail their findings.

"We await updates from the aircraft manufacturer before we take further action," said British Airways, a unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA.

Separately, Boeing said Friday that Mike Sinnett, its longtime vice president and chief engineer of the 787 program, was leaving to run the company's product-development operations. The move is part of a continued reorganization of Boeing's jetliner-engineering operations into three geographical regions.

Mr. Sinnett has been involved with the development of the 787 since its conceptual designs early last decade. He was Boeing's primary public representative in briefings with the media and investigators in the wake of the plane's grounding earlier this year.

—Marietta Cauchi and Daniel Michaels contributed to this article.

Source:  http://online.wsj.com