Stepped up FAA scruitiny on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Post Production Process.

 

I got this from Aviation World and Technology Report.  I wasn't aware that the 787 was under scrutiny

like the 737 Max was, this was new to me, I thought the "Dreamliner " program wasn't having any issues after they got the batteries problem worked out.  From what i had heard, the plane is a good plane from my friends that actually work on the planes.

Stepped-up FAA scrutiny of Boeing’s 787 post-production process will extend beyond resumption of deliveries, as the regulator plans to handle individual aircraft inspections and issuance of paperwork required to finalize customer handovers.

The agency says it plans to inspect 787s and issue airworthiness certificates until it is satisfied that: “Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards,” Boeing’s aircraft-by-aircraft rework plan is in working, and its “delivery processes are stable.” It adds: “This will allow the agency to confirm the effectiveness of measures Boeing has undertaken to improve the 787 manufacturing process” (AW&ST Dec. 6-18, 2021, p. 14).

• Deliveries remain on hold
• It is unclear when deliveries will resume

The FAA’s plan, communicated to Boeing and confirmed by the agency Feb. 15, is the latest example of the shift toward retaining certification and airworthiness approval functions that the FAA often delegates. But unlike many delegated functions—such as compiling certification test data—the delivery process is both frequent and highly visible, making it an attractive one to take over to help spotlight the FAA’s firmer stance with applicants, notably Boeing.

Improving the delegation process work has been a focus of U.S. lawmakers and the agency in the wake of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX accidents caused in part by ineffective oversight (AW&ST March 9-22, 2020, p. 46). A year-old law mandates that the FAA retain some tasks it had previously delegated and review others before handing them over to company staffers working in FAA-designated Organization Designation Authorization units or otherwise representing applicants.

Final predelivery inspections should not reveal major problems. Effective internal procedures and competent regulatory oversight is supposed to catch any systemic issues before aircraft reach the predelivery stage.

“Deliveries can be target-rich if you want to find fault,” a former FAA employee and aircraft certification specialist tells Aviation Week. “All airplanes arrive at the delivery centers with rework, ‘use as is’ nonconformities, etc. Sometimes big numbers [of items are flagged], but it’s often random stuff.”

Assuming the routinely delegated role of final inspections and certificate issuances checks several boxes for the regulator. It gives FAA inspectors one final opportunity to ensure that rework Boeing must conduct meets agency standards, ensures the aircraft comply with Boeing’s type design and provides a chance to catch any unexpected issues that may crop up.

The FAA’s decision to conduct final 787 predelivery procedures mirrors its process on the 737 MAX. The agency took over final inspections and issuance of 737 MAX certificates when deliveries restarted in December 2020 after a 21-month pause, and the FAA continues to do the work.

Agency inspectors will conduct final inspections and issue paperwork required for each 787 delivery when customer handovers resume, the FAA said Feb. 15, following a precedent set on the 737 MAX by retaining a largely routine task usually delegated to the manufacturer.

A customer has not flown off with a new 787 since mid-2021, and issuance of airworthiness certificates—which the FAA assumed for a few airframes as part of stepped-up oversight on the program—stopped even earlier. The manufacturer slowed new-aircraft production and has been working with the FAA to find common ground on how to tackle a series of production-quality issues that require rework on all 110 aircraft that have been built but not delivered.

Developing a process to determine just how much work is needed, the type of work required and on which aircraft has proven challenging. Most of the lingering issues are related to tiny gaps between fuselage sections and around doors that must be identified, quantified and, if necessary, repaired before delivery.

Spirit AeroSystems says issues affecting the parts it provides—including the 787 nose section, or Section 41—have been identified, and its employees have corrected issues on about 40% of the stored inventory.

“We’ve been through all the engineering analysis, and we’ve completed that, and we know now what changes we need to make to production going forward,” Spirit CEO Tom Gentile said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Feb. 2. “In terms of the rework, again, we’ve also identified the rework that needs to be done, and we will complete that rework as we get access to those aircraft.”

Neither Boeing nor the FAA will discuss when 787 deliveries will resume. Weeks ago, an early second-quarter time frame seemed in play.

During American Airlines’ fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 20, Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr said the airline is slated to take its next 787 delivery in mid-April—adding that the date had been “locked in for several months” (AW&ST Feb. 7-20, p. 26). The delivery was one of 13 that American said it expected to add in 2022, including four in time for the peak summer season.

During Boeing’s fourth-quarter earnings call Jan. 26, CEO Dave Calhoun declined to comment on a specific delivery resumption date, but he suggested that Kerr’s comments were accurate.

“The customers know everything that we do,” Calhoun said. “We share the same regulator. They are in our factories looking at the airplanes every day. So they know exactly what’s going on and where it is.”

Three weeks later, on Feb. 18, American revealed in an internal memo later made public that it now expects just 10 787 deliveries in 2022 and four in 2023. American revised its summer schedule, “reducing our flying versus our prior plans due to Boeing’s continued inability to deliver our 787-8 aircraft,” the memo states. American’s new schedule suspends service on three existing intercontinental routes, cuts frequencies on a fourth and delays the launch of a new one.

“We still have tremendous confidence in the aircraft and will continue to work with Boeing on their delivery,” the memo says. “In addition, as previously stated, Boeing has advised us that they will compensate us for their inability to deliver the aircraft.”

American’s memo does not provide any details on an updated 787 delivery schedule.