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The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a proposed airworthiness directive following
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a report from Boeing indicating that certain inspections of the Boeing 787 main landing
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gear were not conducted during production. This oversight, attributed to human error, was discovered during the manufacturing process
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of four drag brace lower link assemblies of the main landing gear, where a required fluorescent
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penetrant inspection was omitted. The Federal Aviation Administration, in its notice of proposed rulemaking, detailed the
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situation where Boeing reported the inspection lapse. An investigation determined that the quality escape was due to human error isolated to
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a single technician. The potential risk of undetected cracks leading to a fracture in the drag brace lower lock
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link assembly was highlighted. Such a fracture could result in the collapse of the main landing gear, compromising the
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aircraft's directional control on the ground, and potentially leading to runway excursions
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or penetration of the wing box fuel tank. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that 156 Boeing 787 aircraft in the United
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States will be affected by this directive. Data indicates that Boeing has delivered 132 787s to US-based operators
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Brian West, Boeing's Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Finance, mentioned
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during the company's Quarter 2 earnings call on July 31st that Boeing still has 787s
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in its inventory, which are expected to be delivered as production performance improves
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The Federal Aviation Administration has opened the notice of proposed rulemaking for comments
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from stakeholders until September 16th. Following the review of comments, the regulator will publish the final rule Airworthiness Directive
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This directive follows a recent disclosure by Boeing in May, where it was revealed that
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an employee had falsified inspection records at the North Charleston, South Carolina facility
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Despite this, Scott Stocker, Vice President and General Manager of the 787 program, assured
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that this misconduct did not pose an immediate safety issue. How do you think the proposed Federal Aviation Administration directive on Boeing 787 main
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landing gear inspections will impact airlines and passengers? Tell us in the comments below
