The FAA plans to mandate Boeing-recommended inspections of forward pressure bulkheads (FPB) on some 980 787s to address production quality problems discovered several years ago.
A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) set for publication March 14 details the proposed work, which is based on Boeing service instructions sent to affected operators in October 2024. The directive would mandate “an internal and external detailed inspection” of the FPB for fatigue cracking or other damage. The work can be done during routine airframe maintenance visits.
The FPB issue came to light in 2021 as part of a Boeing review to flag production issues—mostly gaps in composite fuselage assemblies—plaguing the 787 program. The bulkhead issues affect a part attached to the primary FPB structure as well as gaps between the FPB and surrounding structure.
“Multiple nonconformances, including excessive gaps and pull-up, were found during the assembly and installation of the FPB,” the FAA explained in the draft directive. “Existing gaps were found between the Y-chords and attach angles common to fastener joints, which allow foreign object debris to become trapped between the parts, and burrs to be present around the holes after drilling.”
The NPRM does not identify any suppliers linked to the issue. The dome-shaped bulkhead is part of the 787’s Section 41 nose subassembly supplied by Spirit AeroSystems.
Boeing’s tip-to-tail analysis uncovered 15 structural noncompliances with airworthiness regulations and 57 nonconformances, Aviation Week reported in December 2022. The findings prompted a prolonged delivery pause and production slowdown from mid-2021 into August 2022.
All of the issues, including the FPB, had to be corrected on Boeing’s undelivered inventory of 120 787s to ensure the aircraft conformed with their type design. Work on these aircraft, done in “shadow factories” set up in North Charleston, South Carolina, and later in Everett, Washington, wrapped up in late February.
But the ramifications for the in-service fleet have been minimal. Outside of emergency inspections of eight aircraft in 2020 that each had two specific issues, the FPB checks are the first actions required for already-delivered aircraft.
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