FAA orders inspections of Boeing 787 Dreamliner after crash incident

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is ordering inspections of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after reporting an “uncontrolled forward movement of the captain’s seat” that caused a rapid descent.

The inspection order came in the form of an airworthiness directive from the FDA. Airworthiness directives are legally enforceable regulations issued by the FAA to correct an unsafe condition of a product, such as an aircraft.

The FAA said uncontrolled movement of the pilot's seat caused a control stick input to disengage the autopilot during a flight in March 2024. During the rapid descent, the first officer managed to take control of the aircraft, but numerous injuries occurred on board.

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The incident occurred on LATAM Flight 800 from Sydney to Auckland. 9 News in Australia reported that 30 to 40 people inside the plane were thrown through the air when it nosedived.

Since then, the FAA has received four more reports of automatic movements of the pilot's seat. Three of these incidents were due to loose caps for the front and rear rocker switches, the FAA said. Two other incidents are still under investigation.

The investigation came after Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour claimed that there were potentially damaged parts on the Boeing 787 jets, including improperly sealed gaps in the fuselage that airlines may not have known how to check.

Salehpour first expressed his concerns to the New York Times.

“He has repeatedly communicated to Boeing management serious concerns about Boeing's current production and quality control processes, which he believes create potentially catastrophic safety risks,” Salehpour's attorney, Debra S. Katz, said previously in a letter to Transportation Department head Michael Whitaker.

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“While working on the 787, he noticed that Boeing took shortcuts in the underlay process during assembly, which resulted in drilling residues being left in the interfaces and the composite material deforming,” Katz added.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged that dealing with employee concerns was difficult, adding that the company was working to improve its culture to take the issues seriously.