Flightblogger: 787 fire investigation coming to an end

In posting today, Flightblogger is reporting that Boeing has concluded its investigation of the fire aboard ZA002 and they could be in a position to publicly release the results as well as a new schedule but it seems all but certain that there will be another delay. What is not known is how long the delay will be with estimates ranging from 6 months to as much as a year.

Indications are pointing towards FOD as the culprit but there is still open questions as to what the FOD was and where was it located. Additionally, a more important flag was raised about the 787s power redundancies in case of a loss of a unit like P100.

Fligthblogger also revealed that Boeing was able to recreate the effects in the systems integration lab.

Boeing needs to understand why the 787 had assumed that all power was loss and the RAT was deployed (it only deploys in the event of a total power loss). This might necessitate a software and/or hardware fix though it is not known at this time.

On a related note, Susanna Ray of Bloomberg News put out an article where Wall Street analysts say that a 7th delay is a foregone conclusion. Dominic Gates also has an article detailing the investigation and the possibility that FOD played a role in the fire.

The fire may have revealed a potential problem with how power is distributed in the event one of the power distribution panels failed like the P100 did. It is better to find these issues now instead of an revenue flight with 200 passengers on board.

You can read each of the article by clicking the link below:

Flightblogger: Boeing nears end to 787 fire investigation

Susanna Ray: Boeing Dreamliner Faces Seventh Delay, Analysts Say

Dominic Gates: Boeing investigating if foreign object caused 787 electrical fire