Boeing urges airlines to inspect 787 Max planes for possible loose bolts
Boeing urges airlines to inspect 787 Max planes for possible loose bolts
Boeing instructed customer airlines to inspect their 787 Max jets for loose bolts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday. The request comes after the manufacturer discovered …
Boeing urges airlines to inspect 787 Max planes for possible loose bolts::Boeing instructed customer airlines to inspect their 787 Max jets for loose bolts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday. The request comes after the manufacturer discovered two aircraft with missing bolts in the rudder control system, raising concerns about faults across all aircraft. “The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied,” Boeing…
Here we go again with the 737 Max.
Shouldn't they have full inspections really regularly anyway. Where are the loose bolts????
Inspection intervals are based on expectation of damage over time, not to verify if the installation procedure was properly followed.
Design requirements for airplane parts that experience rotation or are part of control systems are regulated to have locking features to prevent loose bolts from happening. If the initial installation was done improperly it could be a failure in quality control at Boeing. Or if they were installed properly but weren't designed with sufficient locking mechanisms it may be an improper design. Either way this could turn into an Airworthiness Directive which is when the FAA steps in to ensure safety.
Yes and no. Airplanes are complex, the 737 max especially so. To check every bolt after every flight would be impossible, that would require every plane to be taken to a certified shop taken apart and inspected and put back together after every flight. There are inspection intervals and lots of scheduled maintenance that regular airline passengers aren't aware of. We only see the planes we fly on not all the ones temporary out of service for maintenance. These bolts would likely be checked during some scheduled maintenance but it seems that the bolts may be failing prior to the scheduled check, or they were never installed correctly. It's not likely a concern to passengers, the FAA (and most other global air regulators) requires all airlines to follow all manufacturer guidelines and recommendations within a certain amount of flights after an announcement like this. Also modern airplanes are very safe one missing bolt probably won't cause and immediate problem during flight.
737
Yeah, I think the max really dug the 737 line's grave, and nearly Boeing's as well.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Boeing instructed customer airlines to inspect their 787 Max jets for loose bolts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 Max airplanes and inform us of any findings.”
The inspection request entails a two-hour probe of the aircraft’s safety-critical parts for each of the approximately 1,300 787 Max jets in service, the FAA said.
The 787 Max aircraft has faced significant safety scrutiny since it was removed from service following a spate of autopilot errors after it was deployed in 2018, including one crash that killed nearly 350 people.
An FAA report in April alleged the company ignored warnings from engineers to ground the 787 Max after two deadly crashes in late 2018.
The company has struggled financially since the COVID pandemic, losing $1.6 billion in the third quarter of this year, citing a falling demand for new aircraft and a costly contract to construct the next Air Force One.
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