Boeing 787 “uncommanded loss of thrust”

[Rusty Heap]

Gawd I crack up at the word-smith and public relations experts at Boeing. Is there a system failure? nah, just a “uncommanded loss of thrust”

Just like while driving, I've had uncommanded oversteering in the 911?



Boeing 787 test plane makes emergency landing

Associated Press

CHICAGO — Boeing said one of its new 787s made an unplanned landing because an engine lost thrust unexpectedly.

Pilots landed at the airport in Moses Lake in central Washington on Friday. It had taken off from Boeing Field near Seattle.

Boeing said the plane had an “uncommanded loss of thrust” in one of its two engines. Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said the 787 can fly on one engine, but it’s normal procedure to land when there’s an engine problem.

Boeing flew new parts out to Moses Lake over the weekend, and the plane returned to Seattle on Sunday.

The 787 is going through flight testing. The plane with the engine problem is the first test plane. Boeing’s first three 787s are not being sold to airline customers.

[Rusty Heap]

Not to be un-noticed either.....



Second 787 returned to Everett to clear debris from fuel tank
Boeing said Thursday that before its 787 Dreamliner No. 2 jet can resume flight testing it must have its fuel tanks cleaned out in Everett after "small amounts of debris" were found inside the tanks.

By Dominic Gates

Seattle Times aerospace reporter

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MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Dreamliner No. 1, which flew for the first time last month, has been flying almost daily since Christmas.
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner No. 2, on the ground at Boeing Field for more than three weeks, returned to Everett on Thursday after "small amounts of debris" were found inside its fuel tanks.

Flight tests can't resume until the tanks are cleaned out.

Boeing spokesman Scott Lefeber said the cleaning is expected to be completed "pretty quickly," though he would not be more specific.

He described the debris as "particulates" left in the tank. "We've refined the manufacturing inspections to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

Thursday's return to Everett was the second Dreamliner's only flight since the jet first flew Dec. 22.

By contrast, Dreamliner No. 1 has been flying almost every day since Christmas, and Boeing flight-test chief Dennis O'Donoghue told Bloomberg News the entire test program is going well.

"We have been so happy with the progress we've made with the 787, I'm almost giddy," he said.

"The airplane is in tremendously good condition for this stage of the program. The number of squawks has been really low. Systems software maturity is there. Nothing's breaking," he added.

O'Donoghue said mechanics had to replace an instrument panel on the first plane and a cracked windshield on the second but called those "really minor things for a test program."

The second Dreamliner's first flight was marked by several landing-gear glitches. A chase plane monitoring the flight reported a landing-gear support strut appeared not to have deployed properly during part of the flight, and the airplane landed at Boeing Field with the main landing-gear doors wide open, almost touching the runway.

Lefeber said Dreamliner No. 2's long layover was not caused by discovery of the fuel-tank debris, or by the landing-gear issues.

He said the plan had been to keep the plane grounded for this extended period, performing ground tests while new instrumentation was installed.


"This minor debris was not the cause of it being on the ground," he said. Boeing declined to comment on what specific debris was found.

Material left inside the structure of an airplane during manufacturing is a well-known hazard. Prominent signs around Boeing assembly lines remind workers to be careful not to leave behind any "FOD" — Foreign Object Debris.

One Boeing employee said Thursday that "small chips and shavings and whatnot" commonly collect in the fuel-tank filtration system of a new airplane.

Another employee said people working on Dreamliner No. 2 told him mechanics had left behind small objects in the fuel tanks, including "earplugs and plastic tube caps."

Flight International magazine, citing sources working on the program, reported on its Web site that a cheesecloth rag was among the foreign objects left.

Items like that could have been dropped during the original assembly or during the modification work done inside the tanks last fall to reinforce the area near where the wings join the fuselage body.

"It was itty-bitty pieces of junk. It didn't present a big problem. There's a good filtration system," said the second Boeing worker. "But, hey, it's not supposed to be there. We'll clean out the traps where the system is designed to catch foreign matter."

[onewhippedpuppy]

FOD is a big deal, and not uncommon. You'd be amazed at all of the weird places shop workers leave rags.

[red-beard]

I did a startup on a Gas Turbine in Rhode Island. We found womens underwear (frilly ones) in the gas fuel line witch's hat filter. These were not rags...Someone was playing around at the site during construction, and hid the underwear in a pipe.

[p911dad]

Just one question: does Toyota have anything to do with the throttle quadrant?

[Scuba Steve]

Here's some info:
Where did ZA001 spend the weekend? (Update with answer) - FlightBlogger - Aviation News, Commentary and Analysis
Who knows if it's a Boeing or Rolls thing here.

[Joeaksa]

Thats why they call it "flight test" so that these things do not happen once the plane comes online with the passengers onboard.

Thats also why people like me have grey hair...