FAA Calls for Boeing 787 Bulkhead Inspections Amid Manufacturing Defects

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WASHINGTON- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires airlines to inspect Boeing 787 forward-pressure bulkheads to address concerns about manufacturing defects that create gaps in the aircraft structure.

The regulatory body released a notice of proposed rulemaking on March 12 outlining these requirements.

Photo: Boeing

Boeing 787 Inspections

Boeing maintains that the issue, which has been known for several years, does not compromise the safety of 787 aircraft. The company proactively addressed the concern in October 2024 by issuing an Alert Requirements Bulletin recommending the inspections that the FAA now seeks to mandate.

“The FAA has received reports indicating multiple non-conformances, including excessive gaps and pull-up, were found during the assembly and installation of the forward-pressure bulkhead,” the FAA stated in its notice. “These conditions are caused by insufficient clamp-up and non-conformance to the manufacturing process requirements.”

The agency specified that gaps were “found between the Y-chords and attach angles,” which “can allow foreign object debris to become trapped between the parts, and burrs to be present around the holes after drilling.”

If left unaddressed, the FAA warns these problems could “result in undetected fatigue cracks that can grow to weaken the primarily structure” of the aircraft.

The requirement affects 135 US-registered 787s, which appears to encompass the entire US fleet. The FAA will accept comments on the proposal for 45 days.

Issues with 787 forward-pressure bulkheads have been documented since at least 2021. At that time, Boeing committed to rectifying the defects on newly produced jets that had not yet been delivered, while working to determine if 787s already in service might also require fixes.

Photo: Boeing

Issues from Supplier Side

Boeing functional chief engineer Steve Chisholm identified the source of the 787 pressure bulkhead problem in 2024, stating the issue “had to do with a sub-supplier to one of our suppliers, and how they assembled parts.”

Spirit AeroSystems, which supplies Boeing with 787 forward fuselage sections containing the forward-pressure bulkheads, appears to be the primary supplier involved in this manufacturing chain.

The FAA’s new proposal would require operators to complete an “external detailed inspection” of all 787 forward-pressure bulkheads to identify and address these manufacturing defects.

Chisholm described the inspection process last year: “An inspector will have to get to the backside of the forward-pressure bulkhead, they’ll have to pull back insulation blankets, and they do a visual inspection around the circumference of the bulkhead.”

The forward-pressure bulkhead issue represents just one of numerous 787 manufacturing quality problems that have emerged in recent years. Among the highest-profile defects were gaps that failed to meet specifications, including those between fuselage barrel sections.

Despite these concerns, Boeing has consistently maintained that these gap defects pose no safety risk to 787 aircraft. The company asserts that extensive data indicates affected 787 structures will maintain long-term integrity even with these manufacturing anomalies present.

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