The FAA has ordered inspections of Boeing 787 aircraft after improperly installed fuel line hardware was discovered on in-service aircraft and on the production line. The inspections were ordered after two airlines reported fuel leaks on their Dreamliners. The agency gave airlines a week to check the lockwires and another two weeks to look at the connectors. Boeing said half of the 38 airplanes that have been delivered have been checked and they’re working on a production-line fix.
“Certainly we would prefer not to have workmanship issues,” Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter told the Seattle Times. “But the system finds them, we report them and we develop a solution.” The inspections came as the FAA was investigating an emergency landing of a United Airlines 787 in New Orleans on Tuesday. The aircraft was on its way to Newark when it diverted to New Orleans with an undisclosed “mechanical problem.” Gunter said the diversion had nothing to do with the fuel issue, however.
