US FAA requires inspections of Boeing 787 planes following mid-air dive

The US Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it would require inspections of Boeing 787 Dreamliners following an incident in March when a LATAM Airlines plane went into a sudden mid-air dive that injured more than 50 passengers.

The FAA said the apparent reason for the dive was the uncommanded movement of the captain’s seat, which caused the auto-pilot to disconnect. The agency said it had received a total of five reports of similar problems with the captain and first officer seats on 787s, the most recent in June, and two remain under investigation.

The FAA’s airworthiness directive impacts 158 US-registered aeroplanes and 737 aeroplanes worldwide and requires airlines to inspect the captain’s and first officer’s seats on 787-7, 787-9, and 787-10 aeroplanes for missing or cracked rocker switch caps or for cracked switch cover assemblies within 30 days.

Airlines must perform any necessary corrective actions if issues are found.

The FAA said uncommanded horizontal movement of an occupied seat could result in a rapid descent of the aeroplane and serious injury to passengers and crew.

Boeing added “no near-term flight tests were planned on the other flight test aeroplanes” and said the part is custom to the 777-9.