The joint review team comprising U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing technical experts have completed the comprehensive r...
The team found that the aircraft was soundly designed and met the stipulated safety level.
The team was constituted in January 2013 to review 787's design, manufacture and assembly processes after a lithium battery fire onboard a 787 in Boston. The fleet was grounded till the glitch was fixed.
The team found that the 787's reliability in the first 16 months of service was comparable to that of other new Boeing models over the same time period, including the B777.
The team examined specific components more thoroughly, including the aircraft's Variable Frequency Starter Generators, Electrical Power Panels, Fuel Line Couplings and Aft Fuselage Sections.
FAA said some design issues were found which where expected in the design and development of such a complex product.
The team recommended that Boeing should: continue to implement and mature gated design and production processes; ensure suppliers are fully aware of their responsibilities; establish a way to ensure suppliers identify realistic program risks; and require its suppliers to follow industry standards for personnel performing Boeing-required inspections.
"Gated process" refers to the disciplined criteria followed as a new airplane model is developed. This ensures a sufficient level of maturity is gained before a program proceeds to key milestones such as design completion, production start and entry into service.
The team recommended that the FAA should: revise its order on certificate management of manufacturers to recognize new aircraft manufacturing business models; revise its order on production approval procedures to more fully address complex, large-scale manufacturers with extended supply chains; and revise other orders to ensure engineering conformity inspections for all projects are based on risk.
