CBS NEWS
WASHINGTON -- U.S. federal regulators say they
are ordering a comprehensive review of the critical systems of Boeing's
787s, the aircraft maker's newest and most technologically advanced
plane, after a fire and a fuel leak earlier this week.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the review will include the design, manufacture and assembly of the aircraft.
Officials plan to detail the review at a news conference Friday in
Washington, D.C., attended by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, FAA
Administrator Michael Huerta, and Ray Conner, the president and CEO of
Boeing.
The 787, which Boeing calls the "Dreamliner," relies more than any
other modern airliner on electrical signals to help power nearly
everything the plane does. It's also the first Boeing plane to use
rechargeable lithium ion batteries, which charge faster and can be
molded to space-saving shapes compared to other airplane batteries. The
plane is made with lightweight composite materials instead of aluminum.
The FAA statement gave no indication that the agency intends to limit or prohibit the 787 from flying during the review.
A Boeing official said the company is working with the FAA.
"We are absolutely confident in the reliability and performance of
the 787," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said. "We are working with the
FAA and our customers to ensure we thoroughly understand any
introductory issues that arise. While we take each issue seriously,
nothing we've seen in service causes us to doubt the capabilities of the
airplane."
A fire ignited Monday in the battery pack of an auxiliary power unit of a Japan Airlines 787 empty of passengers.
On Friday Japan's All Nippon Airways reported two new cases of
problems with the aircraft. ANA spokeswoman Ayumi Kunimatsu said a very
small amount of oil was discovered leaking from the left engine of a 787
flight from southern Japan's Miyazaki airport to Tokyo.
The jet returned to Miyazaki, but after checks found no safety risk
it flew to Tokyo. ANA said on another flight, to Matsuyama on the island
of Shikoku, glass in a cockpit window cracked and the aircraft was
grounded for repairs.
National
Transportation Safety Board investigators traced the fire to a battery
in the plane's auxiliary power unit, typically used to provide heating
and cooling when the airplane is on the ground.
In a statement, Boeing said, "Nothing that we've seen in this case
indicates a relationship to any previous 787 power system events."
Last month, a United Airlines 787 flight made an emergency landing in New Orleans after false warnings from an electrical panel.
"Every new airplane has growing pains," said Captain Chesley "Sully"
Sullenberger, a CBS News aviation and safety expert. "Especially those
that push the edge of the envelope in technology."
He told "CBS This Morning" that these kinds of problems are normal for new aircraft.
"If you look at the history of aviation, decades ago, new airplanes
had many more issues and they often led to fatal results," he said. "Now
we catch these problems much earlier."
Boeing has insisted that the 787's problems are no worse than what it
experienced when its 777 was new in the mid-1990s. That plane is now
one of its top sellers and is well liked by airlines.
Boeing has delivered 50 of the 787s, starting in late 2011, and has
orders for nearly 800 more. To get through the backlog, Boeing is
increasing production to build 10 of the planes per month in Washington
state and South Carolina by the end of the year.
By comparison, it builds more than one 737, Boeing's best seller, every day.
The company said in November that it had begun making five 787s per
month. But if any major manufacturing changes are needed to fix the
problems, it could fall further behind in deliveries.