FAA Proposes Fix For Boeing 787-8s

February 23, 2016

The US Federal Aviation Administration proposed a new airworthiness directive for some Boeing 787-8s after a report found a defect in a wing component.

The report said certain web fastener holes might not have been "deburred properly when manufactured".

This can develop fatigue cracking and weaken the primary wing structure so it cannot sustain limit load, the FAA said.

The directive, effective March 9, required revising the maintenance or inspections to include an airworthiness limit for repetitive inspections of the web fastener holes in the overwing flex-tees, the FAA said.

Boeing issued a service bulletin to its customers about this in March 2015, a spokesman said.

"Our recommendations, however, are not binding. Only a regulatory agency has the authority to require them. That is what the FAA's rule does," the spokesman said.

(Reuters)