A critical and potentially catastrophic defect has been discovered in nearly 300 Boeing 777 jets operated by major airlines, including United Airlines and American Airlines.
A recent investigation by the Daily Mail has revealed that this defect, stemming from an electrical issue, could cause the aircraft’s wing fuel tanks to ignite and explode.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) raised this concern in a notice issued on March 25, 2024, revealing that an “electrostatic discharge” near the center-wing fuel tanks could act as an ignition source, potentially causing a fire or explosion.
Boeing has been given a deadline of May 9 to address these issues, but their response is still pending. The proposed solution includes installing new electrical bonding and grounding measures around the air intake system near the center-wing fuel tanks.
According to the FAA, implementing this fix for all affected aircraft in the U.S. would cost less than $698,000 in total, with the parts for each plane priced at just $98.
The urgency of these repairs was highlighted by recent testimony from whistleblower Sam Salehpour during Senate hearings. Salehpour accused Boeing of compromising safety standards and using unapproved techniques in the assembly of the 777 jets.
He described witnessing workers using improper methods to align parts, sometimes even resorting to physically jumping on components to fit them into place.
As reported by Daily Mail:
Less than two weeks after the order’s May 9 deadline, one 73-year-old was dead and 23 more were injured when nearby lightning and electrical storms led to ‘sudden extreme turbulence’ for a Singapore Airlines flight onboard a 777.
That death and the FAA warning join controversies already swirling the aerospace giant and its ‘triple seven’ aircrafts — including Senate testimony by a whistleblower who has accused Boeing of taking shortcuts when building the 777.
The FAA’s March 25, 2024 ‘airworthiness directive’ to Boeing has raised new concerns about the 777 series of aircraft, which are among the bestselling long-haul aircraft in the world and the first commercial jets designed entirely by computer.
The nitrogen-enriched air distribution system (NEADS), which helps keep combustible oxygen away from the plane’s jet fuel, according to the FAA, ‘was installed without a designed electrical bond […] in the center wing tank.’
Five models of the ‘triple sevens’ were called out by the FAA’s order, including the Boeing 777F, 777–200, –200LR, –300, and the –300ER, which was the exact model involved in this Monday’s fatal Singapore Airlines incident.
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