News More Dreamliner woes

[MattBaker]

BBC

Media reports say that a large panel in the underneath of an Air India jet fell off in mid-air on Saturday.

Experts quoted in Indian newspapers say that although the Bangalore-bound Dreamliner aircraft landed safely, the incident put about 150 passengers on board at a grave risk.

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation is probing the incident, which Air India officials said was not an emergency even though there had been a "gaping hole" in the aircraft.

Is this a bug or a feature?
It's a feature, isn't it?

 

[Urwumpe]

More severe accident than the erronous warning that the de-ice system failed... this time it is about the structural technology that Boeing developed from the scratch and with way more optimism than the Europeans, who had been researching this topic for 15 years already, when Boeing decided to develop it.

 

[garyw]

Link to the story -> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24537679

 

[boogabooga]

I find it a little strange that such an incident was secondary to insects in the food, and that Air India was downplaying the incident, instead of screaming for Boeing's head. The overall tone seemed to be questioning the competence of Air India.

I think its a bit premature to call this structural failure, since little info is available right now. Perhaps Air India simply failed to secure a cargo hatch.

 

[Urwumpe]

I think its a bit premature to call this structural failure, since little info is available right now. Perhaps Air India simply failed to secure a cargo hatch.

Since a US jet lost its cargo hatch and had a pretty fatal fate, the cargo hatch has a few sensors prescribed by regulations, that should detect if it isn't closed properly. Also, if I read the news correctly, it wasn't a hatch, but a structural part covering the wing box.

 

[garyw]

Let's not forget the recent A320 incident that allowed both engine cowl flaps to come open and as boogabooga points out, it was a secondary piece in the story so probably not quite that big a story.

 

[MattBaker]

it was a secondary piece in the story so probably not quite that big a story.

I think a part of an airplane's outer hull missing due to unknown reasons is always a concern.
Not neccessarily a big story (nobody died, otherwise...) but noteworthy.

 

[Urwumpe]

Let's not forget the recent A320 incident that allowed both engine cowl flaps to come open and as boogabooga points out, it was a secondary piece in the story so probably not quite that big a story.

In German news, the lost panel is primary news, the maggot was not even reported here.

 

[garyw]

I think a part of an airplane's outer hull missing due to unknown reasons is always a concern.
Not neccessarily a big story (nobody died, otherwise...) but noteworthy.

No argument there!

This is a post landing photo and it does look to me like a panel wasn't secured properly.

 

[garyw]

Boeing warns of engine icing risk on 747-8s, Dreamliners

Not so much Boeing as the Engine builders but even so, more bad news.

(Reuters) - Boeing advised airlines on Friday about a risk of engine icing problems on its new 747-8 and 787 Dreamliner planes with engines made by General Electric, urging 15 carriers to avoid flying them near high-level thunderstorms.

The warning led Japan Airlines to pull 787 Dreamliners from two international routes. Other affected airlines include Lufthansa, United Airlines, an arm of United Continental Holdings and Cathay Pacific Airlines.

"Boeing and JAL share a commitment to the safety of passengers and crews on board our airplanes. We respect JAL's decision to suspend some 787 service on specific routes," a Boeing spokesman said.

The move followed six incidents from April to November involving five 747-8s and one 787 when aircraft powered by GE's GEnx engines suffered temporary loss of thrust while flying at high altitude.

The problem was caused by a build-up of ice crystals, initially just behind the front fan, which ran through the engine, said a GE spokesman, adding that all of the aircraft landed at their planned destinations safely.

Boeing on Friday issued a notice prohibiting the affected aircraft from flying at high attitude within 50 nautical miles of thunderstorms that may contain ice crystals.

Japan Airlines said on Saturday it will replace Dreamliners on its Tokyo-Delhi and Tokyo-Singapore flights with other types of aircraft while also dropping a plan to use 787s for its Tokyo-Sydney route from December.

JAL will continue to fly 787s for other international and domestic routes, which are unlikely to be affected by cumulonimbus cloud for the time being, a company spokesman said.

"The aviation industry is experiencing a growing number of ice-crystal icing encounters in recent years as the population of large commercial airliners has grown, particularly in tropical regions of the world," the GE spokesman said.

GE and Boeing are working on software modifications to the engine control system, which they hope will eliminate the problems, he added.

All 747-8s are powered by GEnx engines while 787s are powered either by GE's engines or the rival Trent 1000 made by Rolls-Royce Plc.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly and Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

(This story was refiled to say in the final paragraph that 747-8s are only powered by GEnx engines)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/23/us-airlines-boeing-idUSBRE9AM03G20131123

 

[Urwumpe]

And one more for the statistic.

http://www.ntsb.gov/news/2014/140115.html

Looks like the 787 tries hard to recite some historic other aircraft:

Two turning, two burning, two smoking, two joking and two more unaccounted for.

 

[Evil_Onyx]

More woes for the Boeing and the 787.

Boeing checks 787 Dreamliners for wing cracks

 

[Evil_Onyx]

And more trouble.
aviation-safety.net post on it.

"A Boeing 787-8 Dreamlinear operated as JAL/JL002 bound for San Francisco was forced to diversert to Honolulu international airport (HNL/PHNL) due to the low oil pressure and quantity warning of its No. 2 engine." "The incident airplane was the same plane of the fire incident at Boston-Logan airport, 7th January, 2013."