BOEING 787 makes EMERGENCY landing on TEST FLIGHT

[chefnoel]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101109/ap_on_bi_ge/us_boeing_test_flight

[Eric M]

Here's a little bit more:

Boeing has grounded its six 787 flight test aircraft following an in-flight electrical fire.

The fire started aboard ZA002, Boeing's second 787 test aircraft, in the aircraft's aft electrical equipment bay and occurred as the aircraft was on approach to Laredo, Texas.

"We have decided to focus on ground tests until we better understand the incident on ZA002," says Boeing. "It is not possible to tell at this point how long it will take to make that determination. If it is complete earlier in the day today, we could elect to conduct flights later in the day. The technical team is working to understand the data and we will give them as much time as they need."

Forty-two test personnel were on board the aircraft when the fire broke out and were evacuated using the emergency escape slide system.

Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/11/10/349575/787-test-fleet-grounded-following-in-flight-fire.html

[Eric M]

Ooops... I accidentally truncated the bottom half of the article. Here's the whole thing:

Boeing has grounded its six 787 flight test aircraft following an in-flight electrical fire.

The fire started aboard ZA002, Boeing's second 787 test aircraft, in the aircraft's aft electrical equipment bay and occurred as the aircraft was on approach to Laredo, Texas.

"We have decided to focus on ground tests until we better understand the incident on ZA002," says Boeing. "It is not possible to tell at this point how long it will take to make that determination. If it is complete earlier in the day today, we could elect to conduct flights later in the day. The technical team is working to understand the data and we will give them as much time as they need."

Forty-two test personnel were on board the aircraft when the fire broke out and were evacuated using the emergency escape slide system.
    
According to a source briefed on the incident, the fire caused a series of cascading failures including drop out of some of the flight deck displays and autothrottle systems.

The extent of damage to the aircraft's systems and composite primary structure has not been officially disclosed by Boeing, but is believed to be extensive, say those familiar with the incident.

Boeing's first delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways, whose colours adorn ZA002, is slated for a mid-February 2011 after nearly three years of delays.

[Eric M]

And some more updates from the same source:

UPDATE 2:45 PM ET: A representative from the Laredo Fire Department Airport Unit says upon boarding ZA002 fire fighters found heavy smoke, but no flames, though test personnel told the firefighters that the fire was still ongoing upon landing at Laredo.

UPDATE 3:34 PM ET: The National Transportation Safety Board is officially "monitoring" the situation in Texas, says Keith Holloway, a spokesman for the board and is "assessing information we are getting" from the FAA. The NTSB adds that no board personnel have been dispatched to Laredo. ZA002 has been moved off of the taxiway to a secure area on the airport. An industry source with direct familiarity of the incident says the FAA, NTSB, Boeing interaction is a bit of a "gray area" as the aircraft is in its development phase.

UPDATE 4:40 PM ET: Did ZA002 lose its Primary Flight Displays? Yes. And No.

A source familiar with the details of the situation said yesterday the pilots lost the primary flight displays while on approach to Laredo. Boeing disputed the claim this morning, saying the pilot did have a PFD on landing. The 787 flight deck allows both to be true. In load shedding situations the outboard displays which are the typical home for the PFDs, enter a reversionary mode and disable the pilot's outboard display and first officer's inboard display.

On the pilot's PFD, which takes up two-thirds of the outboard screen in normal operations, is shifted to a one-half arrangement on the inboard display and combined with the EICAS display. For the first officer, the outboard display goes to a one-half arrangement with the PFD and ND. While the primary flight display would be lost due to the electrical issue, the PFD would be sustained on the left inboard and right outboard display.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

[Eric M]

Since I'm on a roll, here's the official statement today from Boeing
http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1513


EVERETT, Wash., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- During approach to Laredo, Texas, yesterday, airplane ZA002 lost primary electrical power as a result of an onboard electrical fire. Backup systems, including the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), functioned as expected and allowed the crew to complete a safe landing. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by Boeing.

The pilots executed a safe landing and at all times had positive control of the airplane and all of the information necessary to perform that safe landing.

Initial inspection appears to indicate that a power control panel in the aft electronics bay will need to be replaced on ZA002. We are inspecting the power panel and surrounding area near that panel to determine if other repairs will be necessary.

We have retrieved flight data from the airplane and are analyzing it in Seattle. This process will take several days. We are committed to finding the cause quickly but will not rush the technical team in its efforts.

The team was conducting monitoring of the Nitrogen Generation System at the time of the incident but there is no reason to suspect that the monitoring or earlier testing of that system had anything to do with the incident.

Consistent with our internal processes, until we better understand the cause of the incident on ZA002, we have decided to postpone flight test activities on other airplanes. Ground test activities will be conducted until flight test resumes.

Likewise, we cannot determine the impact of this event on the overall program schedule until we have worked our way through the data. Teams have been working through the night and will continue to work until analysis is complete and a path forward is determined.

Contact:
Lori Gunter
787 Communications
+1 206-931-5919
SOURCE Boeing

[KLVKFan]

what's going on here....first the A380 problem(s) now Boeing with the 787(s)

[mhawke]

I guess the good news here is that the emergency systems seemed to work well enough to allow a safe landing of the plane.  Go ahead and check that box of for the flight tests...


All kidding aside, its a new plane in flight tests for a reason.  To identify any issues with the plane design, aerodynamics, controls, methods of production, etc.