4 ms·

ANA and JAL Ground Boeing 787 Fleets After Emergency

20 points by mpr3 14y ago

joshschreuder 14y ago
Aw, I'm flying (or was) on one of these in just under 2 weeks with JAL. Was really looking forward to seeing how those windows work, and how the overall vibe of the thing is. Safety first though, I guess.
- akg_67 14y ago
  I have traveled on ANA 787 between Narita/Tokyo and Seattle a few times. The planes are very comfortable - humidity and air pressure better than other Boeing planes. Windows are large but okay in blocking light. Windows could use darker shading to block out light during day travel. As I posted in other thread, while sitting in emergency exit row at window seat, I could feel that the floor in front of the seat was unusually hot. After seeing location of the fire in pictures of JAL's 787, I get the impression that the emergency exit row seat was just above the cargo bay where fire originated. I am glad that ANA 787 I was on didn't catch fire. Good to see that FAA, ANA, JAL making a decision to ground 787.
  - joshschreuder 14y ago
    Yeah I've heard good things from various reviews. I don't really travel that much, but was going on both an A380 and 787 to Tokyo and back to Australia, so was curious to compare them. Going by what you said, it's a good thing it was grounded then. I'm surprised UAL haven't grounded theirs too (yet).
gtani 14y ago
This is disconcerting. I'm pretty close to Everett plant so I see the plain white 787's first test flights (they just finished another one yesterday). For those of us who work on software, even complex distributed apps, the new plane is an unfathomably complex undertaking. The Seattle Times commenters are a mix of Boeing employees, rational outside observers and angry lunatics. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/display.php?thread=804762&direction=DESC&column=rating&offset=0#post_4567846 http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/p...
- MartinCron 14y ago
  Never read the Seattle Times comments. The angry lunatics outnumber everyone else by a wide margin.
w1ntermute 14y ago
Not just ANA and JAL, the FAA has grounded all 787s in the US: http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3884428/faa-grounds-all-boeing-787-airplanes-after-second-battery-related-fire http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3884428/faa-grounds-all-bo...
sami36 14y ago
All new planes have their issues. They'll take a few weeks (or hopefully days) to figure out what's ailing it & it'll be back to its beloved skies in no time. I hope Boeing has enough financial reserves to weather the storm of revenues-lost liabilities sure to hit them...& life goes on. I would fly that plane tomorrow if I could. I'm sure the FAA is being extra-careful.
- jacquesm 14y ago
  Cockpit wiring issues will likely take more than just a few weeks to fix and be re-certified. There are miles and miles of cable in the front of an aircraft, just figuring out what went wrong, engineering a fix, fixing all the planes and getting the fix certified for passenger flights is a fair sized job. Nobody is going to take any chances with stuff like this.
  - ericcumbee 14y ago
    although less than previous aircraft from my understanding. I think i remember saying that the 787 Wiring harness was simplified by replacing alot of cables and wires with a Ethernet like bus for data.
  - sami36 14y ago
    Last thing I heard this was a battery issue. Have they already narrowed it down to cockpit wiring or are you just speculating based on your knowledge of aeronautics & place circuitry ?
    - jacquesm 14y ago
      Apologies, this is now outdated, the first time I heard about it there was talk of a cockpit wiring issue, it seems that there is now more information available.
- mpr3 14y ago
  I think that as the technology (i.e. software, testing, etc.) improves that people expect more reliable product. It makes sense to hold the aircraft to higher standards as they are flown less and less by humans.
pstuart 14y ago
Looks like a good time to short Boeing.
- MichaelGG 14y ago
  Only if you knew the investigation was going to take abnormally long, or if it results in a complete recall and loss of 787. Otherwise the damage from this is going to be priced into your options.
jasonzemos 14y ago
What a bunch of classic media hype calling these "disasters," with all the b-roll and graphics striking fear into the paranoid and uneducated. No piece of engineering rolls into production bug-free, ever. What makes for good engineering is how issues are handled and the severity of the problems. There have been zero injuries or deaths, was that mentioned? This pilot brought some sobering common sense; the anchors are fail.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

20 points by mpr3 14y ago

Aw, I'm flying (or was) on one of these in just under 2 weeks with JAL. Was really looking forward to seeing how those windows work, and how the overall vibe of the thing is. Safety first though, I guess.

akg_67 14y ago
I have traveled on ANA 787 between Narita/Tokyo and Seattle a few times. The planes are very comfortable - humidity and air pressure better than other Boeing planes. Windows are large but okay in blocking light. Windows could use darker shading to block out light during day travel. As I posted in other thread, while sitting in emergency exit row at window seat, I could feel that the floor in front of the seat was unusually hot. After seeing location of the fire in pictures of JAL's 787, I get the impression that the emergency exit row seat was just above the cargo bay where fire originated. I am glad that ANA 787 I was on didn't catch fire. Good to see that FAA, ANA, JAL making a decision to ground 787.
- joshschreuder 14y ago
  Yeah I've heard good things from various reviews. I don't really travel that much, but was going on both an A380 and 787 to Tokyo and back to Australia, so was curious to compare them. Going by what you said, it's a good thing it was grounded then. I'm surprised UAL haven't grounded theirs too (yet).

gtani 14y ago

This is disconcerting. I'm pretty close to Everett plant so I see the plain white 787's first test flights (they just finished another one yesterday). For those of us who work on software, even complex distributed apps, the new plane is an unfathomably complex undertaking. The Seattle Times commenters are a mix of Boeing employees, rational outside observers and angry lunatics. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/display.php?thread=804762&direction=DESC&column=rating&offset=0#post_4567846 http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/p...

MartinCron 14y ago
Never read the Seattle Times comments. The angry lunatics outnumber everyone else by a wide margin.

w1ntermute 14y ago

Not just ANA and JAL, the FAA has grounded all 787s in the US: http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3884428/faa-grounds-all-boeing-787-airplanes-after-second-battery-related-fire http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3884428/faa-grounds-all-bo...

sami36 14y ago

All new planes have their issues. They'll take a few weeks (or hopefully days) to figure out what's ailing it & it'll be back to its beloved skies in no time. I hope Boeing has enough financial reserves to weather the storm of revenues-lost liabilities sure to hit them...& life goes on. I would fly that plane tomorrow if I could. I'm sure the FAA is being extra-careful.

jacquesm 14y ago
Cockpit wiring issues will likely take more than just a few weeks to fix and be re-certified. There are miles and miles of cable in the front of an aircraft, just figuring out what went wrong, engineering a fix, fixing all the planes and getting the fix certified for passenger flights is a fair sized job. Nobody is going to take any chances with stuff like this.
- ericcumbee 14y ago
  although less than previous aircraft from my understanding. I think i remember saying that the 787 Wiring harness was simplified by replacing alot of cables and wires with a Ethernet like bus for data.
- sami36 14y ago
  Last thing I heard this was a battery issue. Have they already narrowed it down to cockpit wiring or are you just speculating based on your knowledge of aeronautics & place circuitry ?
  - jacquesm 14y ago
    Apologies, this is now outdated, the first time I heard about it there was talk of a cockpit wiring issue, it seems that there is now more information available.
mpr3 14y ago
I think that as the technology (i.e. software, testing, etc.) improves that people expect more reliable product. It makes sense to hold the aircraft to higher standards as they are flown less and less by humans.

pstuart 14y ago

Looks like a good time to short Boeing.

MichaelGG 14y ago
Only if you knew the investigation was going to take abnormally long, or if it results in a complete recall and loss of 787. Otherwise the damage from this is going to be priced into your options.

jasonzemos 14y ago

What a bunch of classic media hype calling these "disasters," with all the b-roll and graphics striking fear into the paranoid and uneducated. No piece of engineering rolls into production bug-free, ever. What makes for good engineering is how issues are handled and the severity of the problems. There have been zero injuries or deaths, was that mentioned? This pilot brought some sobering common sense; the anchors are fail.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]