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Old Jun 15, 2019, 10:42 am
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The 787 again

I'm not sure how serious this report is but it seems a UK 787 pilot has commented on the story about engine fire extinguishers on the plane. The FAA are not grounding the plane - just like they didn't with the 7M8 until public opinion and regulators outside the US took over.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...7-safety-fears
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 10:52 am
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I ain’t flying it anymore.
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 11:02 am
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There is no such thing as risk-free flying, just like there's no risk-free driving or risk-free walking down the street. All the industry can do is try to minimise risks to what is deemed to be an acceptable level by the regulators. Should airlines not take off and land at night because it's a bit more risky than flying in the day time? Where would you draw the line? You will find open technical issues like this with almost all aircraft types out there at one time or another, but it rarely warrants grounding.
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 11:13 am
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Originally Posted by Starship73
...You will find open technical issues like this with almost all aircraft types out there at one time or another, but it rarely warrants grounding.
Fire extinguisher reliability sounds pretty serious to me, did Airbus have similar technical issues with any of its aircraft?
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 11:19 am
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There is one active for the A350 at the moment concerning potential corrosion of the bolts that secure the tail fin to the fuselage: Airbus SAS Airplanes
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 11:24 am
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Originally Posted by Starship73
There is one active for the A350 at the moment concerning potential corrosion of the bolts that secure the tail fin to the fuselage: Airbus SAS Airplanes
Ouch
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 11:35 am
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To put this in perspective, the FAA issued 39 airworthiness directives across all aircraft types during the past 60 days. This is a normal and ongoing process of risk management.
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 12:57 pm
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Most engine fires occur on startup or take off, with the occasional warning on shutdown. The fire services are well able to deal with problems if the fire suppressant fails. I have never heard of an engine fire in normal cruise.
On the other hand, cargo fire in cruise is a more significant risk. The cargo fire switches are different.
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Old Jun 15, 2019, 3:29 pm
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But surely they should be required to do a recall and fix it??

If your fire extinguisher in your office was missing or faulty it would be illegal and you would have to replace it!

You would have thought that since I am in the air it would be even more serious??

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Old Jun 16, 2019, 1:15 am
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Yes, it will have to be fixed within a certain timeframe set by the regulators. But they will take into account the almost negligible risk of an engine catching fire during cruise.
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Old Jun 16, 2019, 1:35 am
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Originally Posted by thatflyer
But surely they should be required to do a recall and fix it??

If your fire extinguisher in your office was missing or faulty it would be illegal and you would have to replace it!

You would have thought that since I am in the air it would be even more serious??

it’s perhaps more analogous to how the man comes round once a year to test the fire extinguishers in the office- a percentage will fail that test and be repaired, replaced, whatever. How long have they been faulty for? Up to 364 days presumably

in this case the extinguishers are present but the switch to activate them seems to have developed a tendency to stick in the off position if the system is not used regularly (which evidently it is not). So the regulator has mandated it’s inspected every 30 days instead of whatever presumably longer interval it was being checked at before
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Old Jun 16, 2019, 2:16 am
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No different than having to check the fan blades more regularly really.
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Old Jun 16, 2019, 6:46 am
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Originally Posted by rapidex
Most engine fires occur on startup or take off, with the occasional warning on shutdown. The fire services are well able to deal with problems if the fire suppressant fails. I have never heard of an engine fire in normal cruise.
On the other hand, cargo fire in cruise is a more significant risk. The cargo fire switches are different.
I have experienced one!
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