by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:40 AM ET, Tue August 20, 2024
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has
issued an airworthiness directive that requires inspections of Boeing 787
Dreamliners following a scary incident in March that saw a LATAM Airlines plane
nose dive, leaving more than 50 passengers injured.
According to Reuters.com,
FAA officials revealed that 158 U.S.-registered and 737 worldwide 787-7, 787-9,
and 787-10 airplanes will need to have the captain’s and first officer’s seats
inspected for “missing or cracked rocker switch caps or for cracked switch
cover assemblies within 30 days.”
The FAA ordered the inspections after five reports
surfaced—including the LATAM incident—that saw movement in the captain and
first officer seats caused the auto-pilot to disconnect, resulting in a sudden
and drastic drop in altitude.
The FAA said all aircraft found to have the defect must be
fixed before returning to service.
In a separate Boeing issue, the airplane manufacturer paused
test flights on its 777-9 “after a component between the engine and airplane
structure was identified as failing to perform during a maintenance check.”
Boeing notified FAA officials last week that a damaged component
was discovered on a 777-9 after a test flight. As a result, the manufacturer
said, “no near-term flight tests were planned on the other flight test
airplanes.”
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