A new quality issue is haunting the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. On April 7, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a new safety bulletin for the aircraft. The reason: the faucets in the toilets can leak, under the risk of water running into the plane’s electronic systems and damaging them.
The FAA bulletin mandates repetitive inspections of the 787 for possible leaks and replacement of affected components when necessary.
According to CBS News, the US authority’s recommendation was motivated after an anonymous complaint about the new problem in Boeing’s widebody. The proposal still needs to be approved.
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According to the publication, the FAA reported that there were reports of wet carpets in the cabin of a Dreamliner, a problem that was later considered relevant to be investigated in more aircraft of the type, as the company that inspected its aircraft found leaky faucets. The name of the airline was not revealed.
CBS News also says that Boeing was aware of the new problem on the 787 since November last year and the airlines that fly the potentially affected aircraft have already been informed. Inspection is expected to be required on 140 US airline aircraft.
Quality issues halted 787 deliveries three times
In February, the FAA banned Boeing from delivering new 787 jets to customers until a production problem with the aircraft was resolved. The defect was related to a pressure bulkhead in the forward part of the fuselage, which was supplied by Spirit AeroSystems.
It was the third time that Boeing has been forced to temporarily halt 787 deliveries due to production issues. This most recent interruption, however, lasted less than a month, unlike the previous ones.
The longest break in 787 deliveries lasted 15 months, but resumed in August 2022, when Boeing had more than 100 examples of the aircraft in storage awaiting FAA clearance. In the first suspension, in 2020, deliveries were stopped for seven months.
