A preview of the unpublished rule explains that 119 Dreamliners belonging to US airlines will need to be inspected because the oxygen supply tubing for the masks could be kinked, creating what the FAA describes as an ‘unsafe condition’ that could lead to passenger injury.

Ahead of issuing this airworthiness directive, the FAA reached out to the affected airlines, as well as other interested parties, including Boeing, for comments and suggestions about how best to fix the problem.

American Airlines wanted the FAA to extend the time given to inspect its planes and fix any faulty parts to 48 months – double the amount of time that regulators had originally suggested.

The FAA rejected this request but agreed to a 36-month compliance timeframe, allowing airlines to conduct the checks and carry out any repairs without needing to ground planes outside of normal maintenance schedules.

Thankfully, only a small number of oxygen masks might be affected, as the potential for kinking in the tube has only been reported on specific masks in center seats only.

Nonetheless, engineers voiced concern that carrying out repairs as initially proposed by the FAA would prove challenging, and regulators have now given permission for airlines to simply remove the entire oxygen panel in affected units and replace it with brand new panels.

As airworthiness directives go, this should be relatively cheap for US airlines to comply with, as the FAA estimates the total cost to inspect their planes will only amount to around $252,875.

In August 2024, the FAA issued another airworthiness directive for Boeing 787s over a potentially faulty switch on the pilot seats in the cockpit that is believed to be behind the sudden nosedive of a LATAM Airlines Dreamliner flying from Sydney to Auckland last March.

More than 50 passengers were injured in the bizarre incident that occurred when the Captain was pinned against the control console, causing the plane to dramatically pitch downwards.

Investigators found that the cover of an electronic switch located at the back of the Captain’s seat that moves the seat forward and backward was damaged. When a flight attendant entered the cockpit to deliver the pilots’ meals, she accidentally leaned on the switch, and the cover jammed the rocker switch into motion.

The faulty cover was not, however, isolated to just that one Boeing 787, and this incident was quickly linked to several other ‘inadvertent pilot seat movement’ incidents.

The FAA ordered US airlines to inspect the rocker switches on all of their Boeing 787s and replace any that showed signs of damage. Unlike the oxygen mask rule, the FAA chose not to give airlines and stakeholders any time to comment as it was deemed that the situation was to urgent to wait before issuing an airworthiness directive.

Credit: PYOK

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A British Airways flight has been forced to make an emergency landing at Sydney Airport after a mayday call was made by the pilot.

The British Airways passenger flight BA16 was on its way to Singapore and made the emergency return to Sydney Airport about an hour after take-off on Monday afternoon.

A mayday call is the highest distress signal a pilot can send to alert air traffic controllers of a potentially life-threatening emergency.

In a statement British Airways said “the aircraft returned to Sydney as a precaution” after reports of a technical issue but they have not disclosed what the problem involved, though there have been unconfirmed reports of a suspected fuel leak.

“The flight landed safely, and our teams are working hard to get customers’ journeys back on track as soon as possible”.

In a recording of the mayday call, the pilot onboard the Boeing 787-9 Dream liner can be heard saying: “Mayday Speed Bird16 … I’m just about to come fully established on 43 left … we will have to stop for a minute after landing.”  

The air traffic controller at Sydney Airport responds: “G’day copied, mayday acknowledged”.

Sydney Airport said the plane was “met by emergency services as part of standard procedures”.

Footage from the airport shows a convoy of emergency vehicles arriving to meet the plane, including aviation fire trucks.

“All passengers have since disembarked safely and there has been no impact to airport operations,” a Sydney Airport spokesperson said.

Passengers could be seen queued up at the international terminal.

‘Talk of smoke in the cockpit’

Passengers who were on board the flight told the ABC there was no sense of panic on board, and the pilot had made an announcement over the intercom about being able to smell fuel.

“There was talk of smoke in the cockpit. So, half an hour out and then we came half an hour back,” one woman said. 

“I’m glad it happened when it did and not five hours out on the flight path, where would we be now.”

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The post A British Airways Dreamliner has issued a mayday call over central NSW and returned to Sydney. first appeared on AircrewNews.com.