Another day, another Boeing article in the Seattle Times by their aerospace reporter Dominic Gates. The FAA has issued a new memo based on the expanding list of manufacturing defects turning up on the 787 Dreamliner as Boeing engineers take apart planes and discover new OR more widespread issues.
One new issue involved carbon fiber components being contaminated during fabrication. Early this year Boeing reported to the FAA that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries discovered that some of the bags placed around the composite components to create a vacuum in the autoclave and some sheets placed between the component and the walls of the mold (to facilitate release) were contaminated with Teflon. (This was for wing sections.) At that time, while the components bond strength was reduced, they were still “within the design limits.
Unfortunately, Boeing found other suppliers with the same contamination problems (this time in the fuselage and tail). Some of the components had bond strengths that were below the allowed design limits. Boeing and the FAA are at odds over how to evaluate the integrity of the bond strength — Boeing’s proposed approach: “Is not approved and not validated by testing.”
The small gaps found that the small out-of-tolerance gaps (that were not properly detected and shimmed) have now been found throughout the airplane structure and are thought to be present in more than 1,000 Dreamliners. They aren’t considered “an immediate safety concern but could cause premature aging of the airframe”. I’m sure the customers will be delighted with THAT, and I know that thinking about playing “end of warranty roulette” at 30-40 thousand feet definitely cools my ardor for airline travel.
Boeing spokespeople are making happy talk about planes currently in service being inspected and reworked during routine maintenance:
However, complicating the process, the FAA memo states that Boeing doesn’t have the detailed configuration data on each plane to know which may have the defects.
Coming up with fixes that will satisfy the FAA may further delay resumption of 787 deliveries into next year, increasing costs.
The article goes into more detail on the various disputes between Boeing and the FAA. Sounds like the FAA is playing hardball. It’s way past time they cracked down hard on Boeing.