Boeing 787 makes emergency landing after smoke in cabin

[Matthew Kane]

News reports are coming in as it just happened this morning. Here is one of the first ones:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1016936920101110

[CoolP]

Still testing, so the final version will have real thick smoke or none at all. 

[Matthew Kane]

Still testing, so the final version will have real thick smoke or none at all. 

Oh yeah. Truth is it may have nothing to do with the aircraft at all. Perhaps it was one of the testing computers or equipment on-board that had a circuit board fry. It is just all this histeria in the media today over things like this.

It's not like the old days when you could take a 707 prototype out and roll the aircraft. Today it is all histeria.....I like the old days better. 

[BradHosking]

I guess they got the name right calling it the dreamliner, cause it doesn't sound like it is going to be reality at any stage soon.

[CathyH]

Considering that the Trent 900 was developed into the 1000 for the 787 and had an uncontained blade failure, if I were Boeing I would be REAL unhappy at Rolls-Royce

[CoolP]

Sorry, I have to comment on this video (although I knew it): Tex Johnson is (sadly "was") THE man.

Not only this advertising maneuver showed this, but this little story too:

In his autobiography, test pilot Tex Johnston described a Dutch Roll incident he experienced as a passenger on an early commercial 707 flight. As the aircraft's movements did not cease and most of the passengers became ill, he suspected a misrigging of the directional autopilot (yaw damper). He went to the cockpit and found the crew unable to understand and resolve the situation. He introduced himself and relieved the ashen-faced captain who immediately left the cockpit feeling ill. Johnston disconnected the faulting autopilot and manually stabilized the plane "with two slight control movements"

I know this is what a usual flight sim fan dreams of. The real crew struggles to fly the bird and they need help, from you! 

[Martin Henare]

Well i had to do an emergency evacuation from my study due to smoke in office. 

After some investigation it was found to be a faulty transformer from my new speakers.

it was probably a good test of its evacuation systems anyway.

[Iain_Mc]

I did a tour of the Boeing factory this week, there are a great many folorn looking 787s in ANA and JAL colours sitting outside with blocks of concrete hanging from their wings as it seems their engines have issues and have to be altered  (both RR and GE, it's not just the Trent-1000).

I'm not exactly what it would be that would affect engines from different manufacturers when attached to this airframe, but I presume it was discovered in early flight testing.

Lots of other interesting aircraft about, too....

[Martin Henare]

The 787 engines are interchangable. Eg for a leasing company a customer may choose to have RR engines, then say at the end of the lease the next customer wants GE, they can just sling on the GE engines probably a little bit of a software change and off you go. So it could a common systems that needs some work.

Or in this case as the aircraft are effectively in storage they may not want to fit the engines until closer to the time of delivery.

[flyguy737]

what do the blocks of concrete do???

[tennyson]

It's a dream liner, so if they don't hold it down with concrete blocks it will drift off into the wide blue yonder..........

Frank

[steve31000]

It's a dream liner, so if they don't hold it down with concrete blocks it will drift off into the wide blue yonder..........

lol  Made me laugh so much

[BradHosking]

Boeing should release the concrete blocks from it... it might actually fly then!

[Ian Routley]

Actually the dreamliner has logged hundreds of hours  of test flight time  .... and performance tests to boot.

This is a product under development and stringent testing ... I wonder whether any other company would be keen for everyone to critique the development of their latest fridge / DVD player / TV / (insert machine here)

When BMW has an engine fail in a test lab, we don't hear anything about it.

It would be irresponsible and irrational not to investigate any similarities in design between Trent series engines that might lead to problems ... and I think we would all hope that this was what happened, before the planes are released to carry the general public - rather than on "Air Crash Investigations" or "Black Box" or (insert name here) several years after they are certified.

[tim_A]

what do the blocks of concrete do???

They swing about under the wings and smack into the engines.

Hmmmm......

Now *There's* your problem! 

Solution: Put "Remove before flight" stickers on the concrete blocks! My invoice is in the post!

[ Anyone who has watched a Cessna 152 taxi and take off with concrete-filled tyres still tied to its wings will tell you that as tie-down restraints they are a complete waste of time]

[Iain_Mc]

Re: blocks of concrete.

I presumed the wings are designed to have the weight of an engine dangling off them, and to be without for an extended length of time would be detrimental in terms of material stresses etc.

As I understood it, these are not airframes waiting for engines for the first time, these are airframes that were engine'd and now aren't (all the others on the various production lines have engines attached in the shop).

If you ever do get the chance to do the Boeing tour, I'd highly recommend it; the main assembly building is incredible to see from the inside.

Cheers, Iain

PS. Regarding Tex Johnson, this is one of the engines from THAT 707. It's currently in the Museum of Flight restoration hanger (there are some great museums around Paine field).