Dreamliner to be reviewed by US
US regulators said they would perform a far-reaching review of the design, manufacturing and assembly of Boeing Co’s 787 Dreamliner after a fire on a Japan Airlines Co jet this week and several incidents last year.
“We are confident about the safety of this aircraft, but we’re concerned about these incidents and we will conduct the review until we’re completely satisfied,” Michael Huerta, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, said at a press conference in Washington yesterday.
The FAA is looking to reassure itself, regulators in other countries and the flying public that Boeing’s most technologically complex jet is safe. The 787 has become Boeing’s fastest-selling model ever, with 848 orders through the end of 2012, according to the planemaker’s website. There are now 50 in service, after the plane’s 2011 commercial debut.
The examination stops short of emergency actions such as mandatory fixes or a fleet grounding that the Washington-based FAA has imposed after discovering safety issues on other models. The US National Transportation Safety Board classified the January 7 fire in Boston as an “incident,” not an accident. “I believe this plane is safe and I would have absolutely no reservations of boarding one of these planes and taking a flight,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at the press conference.(BOEING’S DREAMLINER HICCUPS)
Huerta said regulators in their review would emphasise the electrical systems, batteries and power distribution panels in the Dreamliner and how the electrical and mechanical systems of the airplane work together.