The Federal Aviation Administration plans to request airlines to inspect bulkheads with 787 forward pressures to address concerns including gaps caused by manufacturing defects.
Boeing said the issue has been known for several years but it does not affect the safety of the 787.
Additionally, in October 2024, the company addressed the issue by issuing a breaking alert requirement report that encourages inspections that the FAA is currently seeking to mandate.
“The FAA received reports showing multiple nonconformances, including excessive gaps and pull-ups. It was discovered during assembly and installation of (forward bulkheads),” the FAA said in its proposed rulemaking notice released on March 12th. “These conditions are caused by insufficient clamp-up and non-conformance to manufacturing process requirements.”
The gap states that it was “found between the Y-code and the attachment angle.” They say that “foreign debris can be trapped between the parts and burrs can be present around the hole after excavation.”
If not addressed, the problem “may result in undetected fatigue cracks that may grow primarily to weaken the structure,” the proposed rule states.
This requirement affects 135 US registered 787S. The FAA accepts comments on the 45-day proposal.
The rear pressure bulkhead problem of the 787 is known when Boeing said that Boeing is slowing down 787 production to address a bulkhead gap in forward pressure that does not meet Boeing's specifications for wide body jets.
At the time, Boeing said it would fix defects in the jet that originally generated but not yet delivered, and that the In-Service 787 was working to determine whether the fix was also needed.
In 2024, Boeing's functional chief engineer Steve Chisholm of mechanical and structural engineering said that the bulkhead problem was “related to one sub-supplier of the supplier and how did the parts assembled.”
Spirit Aerosystems offers Boeing 787 forward fuselage sections that include forward pressure bulkheads.
The FAA proposal requires the operator to complete an “external detailed inspection” of the 787 forward bulkhead.
“Inspectors need to reach the back of the forward bulkhead, pull back the blanket of insulation and have to perform a visual inspection of the perimeter of the bulkhead,” Chisholm said last year.
The front and rear bulkhead problems are one of many 787 manufacturing quality issues that have arisen in recent years. The gap that failed to meet specifications, including specifications between the barrels of the fuselage, was one of the finest defects.
Boeing claims that gap defects do not affect the safety of the 787, and says the wealth of data indicates that the affected 787 structures maintain long-term integrity.
