The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerns that malfunctioning bathroom faucets on the Boeing 787 Dreamliners may cause water to penetrate the aircraft’s critical electronic systems.
As a result, the agency is suggesting that all 787s in the United States undergo repeated inspections. This is because the FAA has received reports that water from the lavatory has been leaking onto equipment bays beneath the cabin floor on several 787s operated by one airline.
However, there is a disagreement between Boeing and the FAA about how prevalent the issue is across currently active 787s.
Why it’s concerning?
According to the Associated Press, Boeing informed airlines about the problem of leaky faucets in November. The FAA stated that one airline discovered a wet carpet in the cockpit of one of its planes and subsequently inspected its entire fleet of Boeing 787 jets, finding the issue on multiple aircraft.
Boeing has attributed the problem to a faulty O-ring in a bathroom faucet, which causes a slow leak of approximately eight ounces of water per hour.
The company claims that the problem is limited to a specific batch of 787s. However, the FAA is advocating for safety measures to be applied to all Dreamliners currently in operation.
According to reports, the FAA is proposing to conduct regular inspections of all Boeing 787 Dreamliners in the United States. FAA is concerned that leaks from the bathroom faucets could result in water seeping into the plane’s flight-critical electronics. Furthermore, this may lead to a “loss of continued safe flight and landing.”
This proposal will be open to public comment for 45 days before it can become an official FAA order.
The proposed order would apply to the 140 Dreamliners in the U.S. carrier fleets. It is intended to be a temporary measure until Boeing develops a permanent solution for the faulty faucet modules.
Reuters has reported that the FAA had previously halted the delivery of Dreamliners for a month starting in February due to a data analysis error.
However, after the recent suspension, Lufthansa (LH) received the first delivery of a Boeing 787. Despite these issues, Boeing claims that it is observing an unprecedented demand for the Dreamliner.
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