Aircraft manufacturer in crisis Authorities fear injured passengers on Boeing Dreamliner
After the test flights with the 777X had to be suspended, the US aviation authority is now ordering inspections of the Dreamliner. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing is not emerging from the crisis.
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- Boeing has been ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration to inspect its Dreamliner.
- This is due to new safety concerns.
- The aircraft manufacturer has also had to cancel test flights with the 777X due to problems.
The crisis-ridden US aircraft manufacturer Boeing simply cannot escape the negative headlines. There are new safety concerns in the air: the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered inspections of hundreds of 787 Dreamliner aircraft on Monday.
In March, an aircraft of this type operated by Latam Airlines from Chile went into a sudden nosedive, injuring more than 50 passengers. The review that has now been ordered is intended to analyze whether an unintended horizontal movement of an occupied pilot's seat could have led to a rapid descent of the aircraft and serious injuries to passengers and crew, according to a statement from the FAA.
The air traffic control authority also stated that it had received a total of five reports of similar problems with the captain's and first officer's seats on 787 aircraft. Within 30 days, the pilot seats of the 787-7, 787-9 and 787-10 models must now be tested for missing or broken toggle switches or damaged switch covers.
Boeing has to cancel test flights
This week it also became known that Boeing had to suspend test flights of the 777X model, which is already years behind schedule, following damage to the connection between the engine and wings. During a scheduled inspection, a component "did not behave as intended", the company announced.
The industry website "The Air Current" had previously reported that one of the connecting elements between the engine and wing was broken on one of the 777-9 test aircraft.
Prior to this, the aircraft had completed a five-hour flight from Hawaii. Other 777-9 aircraft in the test fleet were found to have cracks in the component, according to sources close to the matter.
Boeing did not go into these details, but emphasized that no flights with the other test aircraft were planned in the near future anyway. The affected component is only used in the 777-9. The FAA had been informed.
Lufthansa is waiting for its aircraft
Boeing unveiled the 777X as the successor to the much-used 777 back in 2013 - it was originally due to enter service in 2020. Boeing recently postponed the date to 2025. The 777-9 is intended as a larger version of the aircraft. Boeing is also currently waiting for the approval of new variants of its 737 Max medium-haul jet.
One of the most important customers for the 777X is Lufthansa, which has ordered 27 aircraft. For Arline, the delays mean that older, inefficient and unsustainable models are still in use.
Boeing has been in crisis since the crashes of two 737 Max jets with 346 fatalities more than five years ago. When a fuselage section broke out of an almost new 737-9 Max from Alaska Airlines at the beginning of this year, the US aviation authority took action. For the time being, Boeing is no longer allowed to expand production of the entire 737 series beyond 38 aircraft per month.
