Boeing is preparing to repair or rebuild the Ethiopian Airlines 787
Dreamliner that burned at Heathrow Airport July 12, and is building
scaffolding around the aircraft to begin the work.
The aircraft builder and Ethiopian are being tight-lipped about the exact approach, for instance whether the carbon composite aircraft will be patched on the tarmac at Heathrow.
A second option would be to make the aircraft temporarily flyable, so it could be moved to an overhaul center, or to Boeing, for a more complete rebuild that would replace the entire damaged fuselage section.
“We don’t have any new information to share,” said Boeing spokesman Doug Alder in an email. “We’ll advise once everything is finalized on the approach we’ll be taking on the repair.”
The aircraft appears to have burned because of the failure of an emergency locator beacon, although British regulators have not issued a final report. A large area was charred on the top of the fuselage, forward of the vertical stabilizer, raising the possibility that the fire structurally compromised the aircraft.
The repair is being closely watched by engineers in the aerospace composites community, because the repair will be the largest ever attempted on such an aircraft.
“Boeing has not replied to my query on how they plan to complete the repair,” Richard Baker, an engineer and campus director of education at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Manassas, Va. “Obviously, they’ve decided to be quiet regarding this aircraft, because the aviation world is watching this event very closely.”
He said that the scaffolding around the aircraft suggests work will start soon.
It looks like to me what they’re going to do is repair it —cut out that section and replace it,” Baker said, rather than a full section replacement. “Everybody and his brother is watching this thing, because they (Boeing) are so far ahead as airframes are concerned. They have not answered my questions and probably aren’t going to.”
A story in Aviation Week also was done with a paucity of information.
“It is expected that Boeing will undertake a large-scale repair on the composite structure at the rear of the aircraft, a project that will probably require the aircraft to be sheltered, particularly with the British winter fast approaching,” that story said.
The question of potential structural damage will be a critical one, and the aerospace industry will be watching closely how Boeing approaches it, Baker said.
The aircraft is owned by Ethiopian, but Boeing is expected to take a central role in the repair, possibly even financially. Ethiopian did not respond to queries.
“Because they have it set up outside, it looks to me like they’re going to try to fix the little section somehow, and make it strong enough so everybody is happy worldwide,” Baker said. “This is the first sign they’re going to do something. The airplane has just sat out there for ail this time. This is a huge composite repair. It will set the standard for what’s to come.”
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com
A second option would be to make the aircraft temporarily flyable, so it could be moved to an overhaul center, or to Boeing, for a more complete rebuild that would replace the entire damaged fuselage section.
“We don’t have any new information to share,” said Boeing spokesman Doug Alder in an email. “We’ll advise once everything is finalized on the approach we’ll be taking on the repair.”
The aircraft appears to have burned because of the failure of an emergency locator beacon, although British regulators have not issued a final report. A large area was charred on the top of the fuselage, forward of the vertical stabilizer, raising the possibility that the fire structurally compromised the aircraft.
The repair is being closely watched by engineers in the aerospace composites community, because the repair will be the largest ever attempted on such an aircraft.
“Boeing has not replied to my query on how they plan to complete the repair,” Richard Baker, an engineer and campus director of education at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Manassas, Va. “Obviously, they’ve decided to be quiet regarding this aircraft, because the aviation world is watching this event very closely.”
He said that the scaffolding around the aircraft suggests work will start soon.
It looks like to me what they’re going to do is repair it —cut out that section and replace it,” Baker said, rather than a full section replacement. “Everybody and his brother is watching this thing, because they (Boeing) are so far ahead as airframes are concerned. They have not answered my questions and probably aren’t going to.”
A story in Aviation Week also was done with a paucity of information.
“It is expected that Boeing will undertake a large-scale repair on the composite structure at the rear of the aircraft, a project that will probably require the aircraft to be sheltered, particularly with the British winter fast approaching,” that story said.
The question of potential structural damage will be a critical one, and the aerospace industry will be watching closely how Boeing approaches it, Baker said.
The aircraft is owned by Ethiopian, but Boeing is expected to take a central role in the repair, possibly even financially. Ethiopian did not respond to queries.
“Because they have it set up outside, it looks to me like they’re going to try to fix the little section somehow, and make it strong enough so everybody is happy worldwide,” Baker said. “This is the first sign they’re going to do something. The airplane has just sat out there for ail this time. This is a huge composite repair. It will set the standard for what’s to come.”
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com
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