Boeing has not delivered any new 787 passenger jets to airlines since May 2021, when for a second time safety regulators halted deliveries because they found production flaws in the planes, such as unacceptable gaps between fuselage panels.
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On January 17th, 2013, the FAA ordered the entire 787 fleet across all airlines to be grounded, and the NTSB launched an investigation. The culprit was eventually identified as a lithium-ion battery. A cell within the battery was believed to have short-circuited, causing what is known as a thermal runaway.
While the 787 Dreamliners have not been grounded, the FAA had ordered a halt to deliveries of the widebody jet between May of 2021 and July of 2022 as it looked into questions about quality control during its assembly process.
The latest issue affects a fitting assembly in horizontal stabilizers built by a Boeing facility in Salt Lake City. The fittings come from an external supplier, and each unit is assembled and installed onto stabilizers in Salt Lake, a Boeing source said.
Additionally, for the Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 787-8, there is an automatic aileron lockout system in place. This prevents the aircraft from performing any manoeuvres that might stress the airframe, such as a roll upside down.
The Dreamliner is a successful aircraft, still in production with more than 1600 delivered or on order. The list price for a new Boeing 787-8 is $239 million dollars. Yet even as international travel opens again for these long-range aircraft, two Dreamliners barely ten years old are waiting for the wrecker's ball.
Therefore, the ERJ135/140/145 members of the family are among the safest airliners in history. The Airbus A340 is also one of the safest, with no fatal accidents involving any of the 380 units since its introduction in March 1993.
“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 Boeing 787 is one of the newest planes to come into passenger service. First delivered in 2011, the aircraft has become a favorite for airlines thanks to its extensive range and fuel efficiency. And, for passengers, the travel experience was much better compared to older aircraft.
The 787 was designed to be the first production airliner with the fuselage comprising one-piece composite barrel sections instead of the multiple aluminum sheets and some 50,000 fasteners used on existing aircraft. Boeing selected two new engines to power the 787, the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and General Electric GEnx.
While passengers love the experience in the back, it's also a great place for the pilots to work. A number of features on the aircraft set it apart from other aircraft types. So, even when your working day can be 19 hours long, I'd much rather be doing it in a Dreamliner than any other type.
The Bottom Line: The Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-9 are very similar aircraft, suited for similar missions. As one would expect, the slightly larger A350-900 has a seat-mile cost advantage, while the 787-9 has an advantage in cost per block hour. These aircraft are competitive, and nearly tie in economic performance.
Based on that knowledge, the 787 is pressurized to a maximum cabin altitude of 6,000 feet. In cooperation with Denmark Technical University, Boeing challenged the assumption that simply increasing humidity would alleviate complaints about dryness on airplanes.
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.
Meanwhile, for the Boeing 787-8 and -9 'Dreamliner,' it is 43,100 feet. However, the stretched-fuselage 787-10 comes in a little lower, at 41,100 feet. Want answers to more key questions in aviation?
The Boeing 787 8 Dreamliner is a mid-size, twin-engine, wide-body jet developed by the Boeing company. The decision to develop such a plane was brought about by the need for a replacement for the aging Boeing 767 which was experiencing falling sales, due to stiff competition from the Airbus A330-200.
The typical lifespan of airlinersThe composite-driven Boeing 787 Dreamliner is designed for 44,000 flight cycles. These jets can theoretically last several decades with an average of two flight cycles a day.