What is so special and different about this plane?
The Dreamliner is all all-new design, rather than an incremental change to existing planes like the Boeing 747 family of jets, which have been in service for decades. The priority of the designers was to make a plane that could cover long distances (like New York to Tokyo) using much less fuel; the main way of achieving this was to make it much lighter. This was achieved by using lighter materials like carbon fibre and aluminium, and by relying much more on electrical power instead of hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Have all these changes been properly tested?
To get the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing put the 787 through what it calls “the most robust and rigorous certification process in the history of the FAA,” and regulators have reiterated their confidence in the planes after the recent round of mishaps. But they are also launching a new review, attempting to work out what happened in the recent incidents.
What exactly has been going wrong with the Dreamliners?
There has been a few cases of problems with the fuel line connectors being incorrectly installed, which led the FAA to order all operators to inspect the fuel lines connections of their 787s last December. There have also been electrical problems, including failing power generators and electrical fires. Because of its increased reliance on electrical systems, any electrical problem “goes to the heart of the innovative side of the 787,” one aviation expert told the WSJ.
More after the jump…