As Expected, The FAA Grounds 787 Fleet

It’s been a bad week for the 787.

First, a fire broke out on a JAL 787 in Boston.

Then, the FAA launched an “top-level” investigation into the problems the 787 has experienced.

Then yesterday, ANA and Japan Airlines saw their 787 fleets grounded by their government, with a report of smoke on an ANA 787 being the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The final shoe dropped today.  The FAA has grounded the US 787 fleet.

Quoting from the article:

It’s the first time in four decades that U.S. regulators have taken such dramatic action to effectively ground a major airliner. The FAA called for Boeing and its airline customers “to develop a corrective action plan” before flights can resume.

This is absolutely an unprecedented step.  However, it’s not as impactful to the airlines as the “voluntary” grounding of American Airlines MD-80 fleet back in 2008 in response to the FAA threatening to ground them if they didn’t.

The 787 will fly again.  I’m not sure if it’s sooner or later.  We’re in a gray area for both the FAA and Boeing.  I’ll be keeping tabs on the progress.

Related Posts:

Fire Breaks Out on Parked JAL 787

An Update On Yesterday’s 787 Fire

Boeing 787 Fire Update: FAA Launching Investigation

More Boeing 787 Dreamliner Miscues

Another Quick 787 Update: ANA And Japan Airlines Ground Their Fleets

12 Comments

  1. Thanks for the updates. I’m suppose to fly next week on the JAL 787 from NRT/SIN and I was really looking foward to it because of my experience on the MegaDo. Now I’m dreading an equipment change. Hopefully they can clear these birds to fly safely soon!

  2. This was sad news for me. Hopefully they can track down the issue and fix it soon.

    Flightaware seems to show that JAL is flying 777-200’s between NRT and BOS.

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