Engine static ports left covered on transpacific Qantas 787

Qantas and Boeing are revising aircraft maintenance procedures after one of the carrier’s 787-9s flew from Melbourne to Los Angeles without having the covers of its engine static ports removed. All four ports – two on each of the General Electric GEnx engines’ fan cowls – had been taped over, along with others on the fuselage, by an engineer as part of the parking process during the jet’s scheduled 39h layover at Melbourne. But a second engineer, tasked with restoring the aircraft to flight on 21 September last year, was “unaware” that the fan cowl ports had been covered and did not check, says the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The aircraft subsequently took off for Los Angeles on 22 September with the ports still covered, although the inquiry states that the 787’s flight proceeded normally and the jet’s operation was unaffected. Fan cowl static ports provide air pressure data to the engine electronic control if the normal air-data reference system becomes unreliable. They are among 14 static ports located on the 787’s fuselage, engines and fin. Boeing’s cover procedure for the cowl ports includes fitting a 1m long streamer, which needs to be taped down to avoid being torn off by strong winds. This, however, reduces its visibility because it does not flap in the breeze. Story has more.<br/>