The Wall Street Journal
By Andy Pasztor
Sept. 25, 2014 7:44 p.m. ET
Boeing
Co. and aviation regulators have agreed on mandatory replacement of
certain foamlike blocks inside the structures of more than 80 of the
company's 787 Dreamliner jets to ensure fire-suppression systems will
work properly in case of an emergency.
A safety directive issued
by the Federal Aviation Administration this week calls for replacement
of missing or misaligned parts, called plugs, to prevent firefighting
chemicals from dispersing too quickly in case of a blaze in lower cargo
compartments. The agency said faulty or loosened plugs could "result in
the inability to extinguish a fire and consequent loss of control of the
airplane."
The FAA gives airlines up to one year to do the work.
The agency said Boeing initially issued a nonbinding service bulletin
in May urging airlines to install the new plugs within two years. But
this week's directive indicates that, based on "the degree of urgency"
and other considerations, Boeing subsequently agreed to a 12-month
compliance deadline and intends to revise its bulletin.
The FAA
order applies only to three U.S.-registered aircraft, but foreign
regulators are likely to embrace the 12-month timetable.
The
moves show Boeing's flagship 787 model, which suffered extensive delays,
manufacturing holdups and lithium-battery problems in the past,
continue to experience fallout from some previous missteps. According to
the FAA, the cause of the plug problem was "determined to be
miscalculated pressure exposures during design."
A Boeing
spokeswoman said Boeing previously advised operators of 88
early-production aircraft that improperly configured plugs don't present
an immediate safety concern due to "redundancies designed into the
system and the extremely low likelihood of system activation." The
statement also indicated that Boeing supports the FAA's directive and
the company has changed the design.
The spokeswoman added that
misaligned or missing plugs were the result of unexpected changes to the
characteristics of the material over time. The problem was discovered
during production testing, according to Boeing.
The effectiveness
of fire-suppression systems is an important safety factor for
long-range aircraft such as the Boeing Dreamliner, which often flies
oceanic or polar routes. Some airlines are currently allowed to fly 787s
and certain other Boeing aircraft as far as 5 1/2 hours from the
nearest suitable airport in case of an emergency.
The FAA
estimated it could take some 30 work hours per plane to complete the
fixes, with the overall price tag amounting to roughly $12,000 for a
single aircraft. But the agency said Boeing has indicated all of the
proposed costs may be covered under warranty.
- Source: http://online.wsj.com
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