What Caused The Battery Fires That Grounded the Boeing 787 10 Years Ago? A combination of design issues, wrong assumptions, and inadequate testing procedures contributed to the fleet's grounding. In late 2012 Japan Airlines took delivery of another Boeing 787-800, and it entered into service shortly after.
Ecologically, and compared to previous generation wide-body aircraft, the Dreamliner has avoided more than 85 billion pounds of carbon emissions, achieved 20-25% greater fuel efficiency, realized 20-45% more cargo revenue capacity, and produced a 60% smaller airport noise footprint.
The 787's latest problem mirrors production issues discovered over 2020 and 2021 that included improperly fitted shimming that led to paper-thin gaps between surfaces on the Dreamliner's fuselage.
The issue pertains to wrinkling in the forward pressure bulkhead in the jets' noses, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. The defect isn't considered a threat to flight safety, the person said.
“In reviewing certification records, Boeing discovered an analysis error by our supplier related to the 787 forward pressure bulkhead,” said the company, referring to the portion of a plane at its nose that maintains the pressurized conditions in the cabin.
The FAA said the leaks could damage critical equipment and lead to a “loss of continued safe flight and landing.” The agency said one airline found wet carpet in the cockpit of a plane and, when it inspected its entire fleet of 787s, found “multiple” planes with leaking faucets.
Incredibly safe.The 787–8, —9 & —10 are as safe as it's going to get in aviation. The issue with the 787 spacing issues — where gaps are larger than 0.005 inches — is a fatigue and cycles related issue. In normal manufacturing, their are manufacturing tolerances to account for slight differences in part builds.
Designed for optimized fuel efficiencyBoeing states that the Dreamliner's fly-by-wire technology: ... optimizes the shape (or 'camber') of the wing automatically to save the most fuel.
Passenger countIn terms of capacity, it is abundantly clear that the A380 can carry significantly more passengers than any 787 variant. With 525 passengers in a standard, three-class configuration, the A380 has a sizeable advantage over the Boeing 787-10, which seats 323 passengers across three classes.
This advanced fly-by-wire system also is the key to Smoother Ride Technology – unique to the 787 family -- which senses turbulence and adjusts control surfaces automatically to dampen its effects before it reaches the passengers.
While pilots can't actually see turbulence, they often know what is coming up, thanks to reports from other planes, weather reports, and radar equipment. However, clear air turbulence (severe turbulence occurring in cloudless areas) can sometimes catch pilots off guard.