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A lot of attention will be paid to the planes electrical systems after a series of problems, including a major battery fire in the rear of plane Monday in Boston. (AP Photo/File)

Boeing Dreamliner to face major FAA review

BY Chris Sullivan  on January 11, 2013 @ 5:08 am (Updated: 8:38 am - 1/11/13 )

The FAA said Friday morning they believe the 787 Dreamliner is a safe aircraft, but they want to see the entire picture and not simply focus on individual events.

The FAA and the Department of Transportation are launching a major review of the Boeing 787 after a series of problems with the new airplane.

"This review will cover the critical systems of the aircraft, including design, manufacturing and assembly," said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

The top to bottom review of the Dreamliner, will look at its design, manufacturing and assembly. It will also include a review of all the outsourced design and manufacturing work.

"We want to see the entire picture. We do not want to simply focus on individual events. We want to determine the root cause of these recent events so that they won't happen again," FAA head Michael Huerta said.

A lot of attention will be paid to the planes electrical systems after a series of problems, including a major battery fire in the rear of plane Monday in Boston.

"We're going to put an emphasis on the electrical systems of the airplane. What this includes is components such as batteries and power distribution panels. We'll also look at how the electrical and the mechanical systems of the airplane interact with one another," Huerta said.

The plane has also experienced fuel leaks, and in the last 24 hours a few small problems have also popped up. An engine was leaking oil in one. The outer layer of a cockpit window was cracked in another.

Boeing CEO of Commercial Airplanes Ray Conner said there is nothing he sees in these problems that leads him to believe there are any significant problems.

"The 787 in-service performance to this point is on par with past successful commercial airplane introductions, like Boeing 777. In short, we have complete confidence in the 787 and so do our customers," Conner said.

The FAA spent 200,000 hours working with Boeing on the Dreamliner before it certified the airplane for service.

Conner understands why this review needs to be completed, and he welcomes it.

"We welcome any opportunity to further to assure people outside of the industry about the integrity of the airplane and the processes that bring us to life," he said.

Dreamliners will continue to fly during this review. There is no timetable for how long this review will take.

Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio Reporter
Chris loves the rush of covering breaking news and works hard to try to make sense of it all while telling stories about real people in extraordinary circumstances.
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Comments (7)


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  • CH wrote...
    time to ground -
    January 11, 2013 4:36 am
    the plane.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Union Quality: No big deal if something breaks.....as long as your on the ground when it happens.
    January 11, 2013 7:46 am
    Union junk.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cigarfan wrote...
    @shark75
    January 11, 2013 10:44 am
    SC is not Union. You get what you pay for.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Union junk? think again O wise one -
    January 11, 2013 9:38 am
    ask the Bookkeeper . She gets the parts oversea's.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    CH wrote...
    January 11, 2013 10:40 am
    I'm not an electrician (that would probably require union membership), but I believe a battery needs to be connected to something (like an airplane) to be likely to catch fire. I'd say if these union eff's were paying more attention to their jobs and spent less time planning strikes we may have an airplane that is put together more soundly...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • C"mon Man wrote...
    I
    January 11, 2013 10:55 am
    Would fly on any Boeing Aircraft any time!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Dizzle wrote...
    Can't say I didn't call it...7 years ago.
    January 11, 2013 11:18 am
    It's not too hard to point out when brainwashed trolls don't know what they're talking about, but in this case it's ridiculous. FYI dittoheads: The "Dreamliner"is far and away THE most outsourced commercial aircraft ever built under the name Boeing. That means there is LESS Union work involved in it's design and creation, ergo, it should be the greatest Boeing plane ever! Right? Realistically, Boeing can never turn a profit with this cheaply built, hodge-podge of a badly made barrel. The snafus & delays & malfunctions have been THAT costly. Maybe in 2020 they'll get their outsouce & non-union pipeline kinks worked out, but until then...flier beware.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }