Air India has begun a series of phased modifications on its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners. This is in response to a directive from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which raised concerns about the safety of door assist handles on Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 jets. The modifications are not expected to impact Air India’s flight operations.
What did the directive say?
These modifications have been necessitated by an airworthiness directive (AD), issued by the FAA on July 2, which will become effective Aug. 6.
An AD is a legally binding instruction sent by an aviation authority to aircraft owners, requiring them to make certain modifications to their aircraft, or follow certain practices, in order to operate legally within the authority’s jurisdiction.
In this case, the AD requires airlines operating Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 Dreamliners to make certain alterations to their door assist handles.
The FAA says that these include,
“installing a new retainer above the lower keyway of the support bracket assembly and installing a placard on certain support bracket assemblies.”
It is hoped that these changes will reduce the risk to passengers, cabin crew, and maintenance personnel when opening the doors, and ensure all doors can be opened quickly during an emergency.
This follows reports of door assist handles on some Boeing 787 Dreamliners become loose during pre-flight inspections.
Which planes are affected?
Air India has not explicitly stated how many of its jets require modification, but has said that the process will be conducted in multiple phases.
This is to ensure that the majority of the airline’s 26 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, and nine 787-9 Dreamliners are available for use at any given time.
The airline believes that this will allow them to modify all of the jets which require updating, without having to suspend any of their services.
It is also believed that some of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners have already been modified, and are ready to return to regular use.
Air India is India’s flag carrier airline, and currently operates routes to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), in the USA.
Have you flown on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner recently? Will the FAA airworthiness directive improve safety? Let us know what you think in the comments.
