Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Federal Aviation Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>14 CFR Part 39</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. FAA-2025-0338; Project Identifier AD-2024-00641-T; Amendment 39-23188; AD 2025-23-05]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2120-AA64</RIN> <SUBJECT>Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 airplanes. This AD was prompted by reports of multiple nonconformances, including excessive gaps and pull-up, in the forward pressure bulkhead. This AD requires an internal and external detailed inspection (DET) of the forward pressure bulkhead (FPB) for any damage and performing applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This AD is effective January 13, 2026. The Director of the Federal Register approved the incorporation by reference of a certain publication listed in this AD as of January 13, 2026. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> <E T="03">AD Docket:</E> You may examine the AD docket at <E T="03">regulations.gov</E> under Docket No. FAA-2025-0338; or in person at Docket Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains this final rule, any comments received, and other information. The address for Docket Operations is U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. <E T="03">Material Incorporated by Reference:</E> • For Boeing material identified in this AD, contact Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data Services (C&DS), 2600 Westminster Blvd., MC 110-SK57, Seal Beach, CA 90740-5600; telephone 562-797-1717; website <E T="03">myboeingfleet.com</E> . • You may view this material at the FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For information on the availability of this material at the FAA, call 206-231-3195. It is also available at <E T="03">regulations.gov</E> under Docket No. FAA-2025-0338. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Joseph Hodgin, Aviation Safety Engineer, FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; phone: 206-231-3962; email: <E T="03">joseph.j.hodgin@faa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> The FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR part 39 by adding an AD that would apply to certain The Boeing Company Model 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 airplanes. The NPRM was published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> on March 14, 2025 (90 FR 12115). The NPRM was prompted by reports of multiple nonconformances, including excessive gaps and pull-up, in the forward pressure bulkhead. In the NPRM, the FAA proposed to require an internal and external DET of the FPB for any damage and performing applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address fatigue cracks that can develop prior to baseline structural inspection thresholds. The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in undetected fatigue cracks that can grow to weaken the primary structure where it cannot sustain limit load, which could adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Discussion of Final Airworthiness Directive</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Comments</HD> The FAA received comments from Boeing, ProTech Aero Services Limited (ProTech), two individuals, and two anonymous commenters who supported the NPRM without change. The FAA also received comments from Qantas Airlines (Qantas) and United Airlines (UAL), who supported the NPRM but also requested changes as discussed below. The FAA received additional comments from three other commenters, including the Foundation for Aviation Safety, an individual, and an anonymous commenter. The following presents the comments received on the NPRM and the FAA's response to each comment. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Request To Correct a Typographical Error</HD> UAL and Qantas requested that the FAA revise paragraph (d) of the proposed AD to read “Air Transport Association (ATA) of America Code 53, Fuselage.” Qantas commented that ATA 41 is a minor error in paragraph (d) in the proposed AD. Both commenters stated that the ATA code should be 53. The FAA agrees to correct the typographical error. The FAA has revised paragraph (d) of this AD accordingly. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Request To Revise Work Instructions</HD> UAL requested that the FAA revise the Work Instructions of Boeing Alert Service Bulletin B787-81205-SB530093-00, Issue 001, dated October 5, 2024, to remove step (b) of Part 1 from the service bulletin or make it optional. UAL commented that step (b) of Part 1 instructs to remove the insulation blanket from the nose radome area and stated that no insulation blanket is present per Boeing Illustrated Parts Data (IPD) 53-13-01-01. The FAA disagrees with UAL's request. Step (b) of Part 1 of Boeing Alert Service Bulletin B787-81205-SB530093-00, Issue 001, dated October 5, 2024, is not a Required for Compliance (RC) step, therefore it is optional to perform. The FAA has not changed this AD in this regard. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Request for Reporting to the FAA</HD> An anonymous commenter requested that all inspection reports be submitted to the FAA in anonymized form to facilitate broader data collection and trend analysis. The FAA disagrees with the commenter's request. The actions required by this AD address the identified unsafe condition. The FAA notes that if any cracking is found as the result of any inspections, then it must be reported in accordance with 14 CFR 21.3 The FAA has not changed this AD in this regard. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Request To Expand Inspections and Mandate Re-Inspection</HD> An anonymous commenter requested that the FAA expand the inspections to include adjacent fuselage structures potentially affected by assembly errors to prevent undetected cascading structural failures. The commenter also requested that the FAA mandate periodic re-inspection schedules beyond the initial compliance for affected aircraft. The FAA disagrees with the commenter's request. The actions required by this AD address the identified unsafe condition. The FAA notes that for any repaired area, post-repair inspections are required by maintenance and operational rules; therefore, it is not necessary to mandate them in this AD. However, if additional data are presented that would justify expanding the inspection area or mandating repetitive inspections, the FAA might consider further rulemaking on this issue. The FAA has not revised this AD in this regard. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Request To Address Costs of Compliance</HD> An anonymous commenter requested that, given that on-condition repairs may not be fully covered under warranty, the FAA provide more detailed cost ranges to better inform small operators and promote economic equity. The FAA acknowledges the commenter's concern. For this AD, the repair costs will vary depending on what damage is found, so the FAA has no way of estimating them. Although this AD imposes certain operational costs (inspections) on operators, all operators have an obligation to ensure that their airplanes are in airworthy condition. The FAA has not changed the AD in this regard. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Feedback on Training, Environmental Impact, Supply Chain, Worker Safety, Diversity, and New Technology</HD> An anonymous commenter provided feedback on a range of topics, including workforce training, environmental impact, supply chain oversight, worker safety reporting, diversity and equity considerations, and new technologies. The FAA acknowledges the commenter's feedback; however, these matters are outside the scope of this AD, and the commenter did not request any specific revisions to the proposed AD. The FAA has not changed this AD in this regard. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Request To Address Concerns With Forward Pressure Bulkheads</HD> An individual expressed concern that the proposed AD is inadequate and does not adequately address the underlying issues with non-compliant forward pressure bulkheads. The commenter stated there are some problems with the forward pressure bulkhead and commented on Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin B787-81205-SB530093-00 RB, Issue 001, dated October 5, 2024. The commenter urged that the FAA further investigate pressure bulkhead safety risks for the safety of the public. The FAA acknowledges the commenter's concern. The FAA investigated and verified with Boeing that the concerns regarding problems with forward pressure bulkheads were appropriately addressed in the analysis conducted during the safety investigation. The FAA has determined that an unsafe condition exists related to the forward pressure bulkhead, as specified in paragraph (e) of this AD, and has worked with Boeing to ensure all known non-conformances were considered during the evaluation of this safety issue. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Comments on Mandated Service Information</HD> The same individual also provided comments on Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin B787-81205-SB530093-00 RB, Issue 001, dated October 5, 2024, that relate to accomplishing the required actions. The following specifies those comments that implicate a request for changes, and the FAA's responses. The commenter stated that the detailed inspection is inadequate because sealant covers the inspection zone and stated that a non-destructive inspection (NDI) for cracking should instead be done. The FAA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 23k characters. 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