EWRflyr

Nothing official from Boeing as of yet, but if this is true, it could be good news for the much-delayed 787. Though, I guess it could raise questions about how one tool could cause all the problems. Either way the whole 787 debacle shows what "outsourcing" can get you.

Boeing 787 Fire Caused by Misplaced Tool: Report


November 22, 2010

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The fire on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner test flight two weeks ago resulted from a short circuit caused by a tool mistakenly left in an electrical equipment cabinet on the plane, according to French newspaper La Tribune.


In an article on Monday, the paper said that while the misplaced tool was the cause of the fire, engineers are trying to find a way to prevent it from happening again. La Tribune attributed the information to "industry sources."


A Boeing spokeswoman declined to comment on the accuracy of the report, saying the investigation is ongoing.


"The investigation is not complete. Anything indicating cause or next steps is just speculation at this point," she said.


The French report said contractor Hamilton Sundstrand, a unit of United Technologies that provides electrical components, was likely one of several manufacturers involved.


Hamilton Sundstrand said it was "offering full support of the investigation and assisting Boeing."


Boeing, the world's second-largest plane-maker after Airbus , halted test flights on the long-delayed 787 Dreamliner following the November 9 fire, which caused an emergency landing of the plane in Laredo, Texas.


The company has not said whether the fire would affect its plans to make first delivery of the light-weight, carbon-composite plane to the first customer in the first quarter of 2011.


The delivery is already nearly three years behind schedule. Some aviation experts believe there could be another delay of a few months to a few years.


"We think it is probably a positive if the source of the fire can be traced to an errant tool, rather than a system design issue," said Robert Stallard, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a research note.

acl65pilot

That is a lot better than a total failure.

Columbia

IMO, ANA won't see a bird until 2012 at the earliest.

742Dash

The problem is that a single point failure turned into a "total failure". The airplane is reported to have landed on the battery and the RAT.

A loose tool, a flawed panel design - these things happen. But a single failure that casscades across the airplane is something else all together. And keep in mind that almost everything on the 787 is electric.

acl65pilot

I know. My point is that at least it was not an internal flaw. Yes, there will need to be a redesign so that a failure does not cascade, but at least they are not going to have to do a total redesign of the electrical buses, just a few breaker to make sure it does not cascade.

It is still good that it happened now and not later.

Check Essential

What makes you guys think it was a cascade electrical failure?

They were on fire.
Kinda hard to stop that from "cascading".

We'll probably get halon bottles in the E/E bays now.
Just like the cargo bins after ValuJet 592 and the lavs after Air Canada 797.

alfaromeo

....and under my seat after the next Chipotle double bean burrito.

tortue

If Boeing enforced RFID's on every individual tool or accounted for equipment when done with an a/c before checking it out, this maybe wouldn't have happened. Though I heard in the last mechanics strike one of the things they fought against was any RFID's on tools because it could be used to "single out" employees.

America works best when we say labor yes?

SONORA PASS

Thats Funny!

Very likely the most common industry event triggering the use of the 02 mask enroute.

Now lets see, should that additional flight deck halon bottle be used in conjuction with a particle detector, heat sensor, or just manually triggered by pilots?

SP

742Dash

Boeing nears end to 787 fire investigation - FlightBlogger - Aviation News, Commentary and Analysis