The US Department of Transportation is to launch a “comprehensive review” of the Dreamliner aircraft following a series of incident this week.
The Boeing B787 has been dogged by technical problems both in the US and Japan over the last few days including spilling fuel on to a runway and a cracked cockpit window.
The incidents have now led to the US Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration to launch a review of the Dreamliner’s “critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly”. The aircraft will not be grounded while the safety review takes place.
The decision was announced in Washington DC today (January 11) by US transport secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta. The press conference was also attended by Ray Conner, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, who said that the
Huerta told journalists: “We believe the B787 is a safe aircraft”. He added that the review would look at the aircraft’s power distribution panels and batteries in the electrical system.
Boeing said in a statement: “Boeing is confident in the design and performance of the B787. It is a safe and efficient airplane that brings tremendous value to our customers and an improved flying experience to their passengers.
“The airplane has logged 50,000 hours of flight and there are more than 150 flights occurring daily. Its in-service performance is on par with the industry's best-ever introduction into service – the Boeing 777.
“While the B787's reliability is on par with the best in class, we have experienced in-service issues in recent months and we are never satisfied while there is room for improvement. For that reason, today we jointly announced with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the start of a review of the B787's recent issues and critical systems.”