Aug. 21--Airlines are taking a look at the fire suppression systems on Boeing's 787 Dreamliners after problems surfaced with a part made by a subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., a company spokesman said Tuesday.
A "limited number" fire extinguished bottles were affected, said UTC Aerospace Systems spokesman Dan Coulom, who added that the parts were refurbished. In the case of an engine fire, the bottles feed retardant into the engine.
"This error has been corrected and we are working with Boeing and the airlines to complete the necessary inspections, which we expect will be completed over the next few days," Coulom said in a written statement.
Tokyo-based ANA Holdings discovered the defect, according to a Bloomberg report, which identified the subsidiary as Kidde, a part of UTC Aerospace Systems.
The review comes as the Federal Aviation Administration directed airlines to inspect wiring associated with the planes' emergency beacons, made by Honeywell. Investigators suspect that system caused a Dreamliner fire in July at London's Heathrow Airport.
The events are the latest in hiccups for the innovative aircraft after its fleet was grounded for three months earlier this year because of battery packs catching fire. Boeing has delivered 73 of the long-range mid-sized airliners, with about 850 orders waiting to be filled.
After concerns about the fire systems, Boeing provided instructions to airlines for how to address the "improperly configured" equipment when it advised operators of the aircraft to inspect the fire systems. Problems with the fire extinguisher bottles occurred at the supplier facility during their manufacturing, he said.
"The safety of crews and passengers on board our airplanes is our top priority," said Boeing spokesman Doug Alder. "An engineering review has determined that this improper configuration does not present an immediate safety of flight issue because the bottles are not the only means of fire extinguishing for engines and there are multiple redundancies within the fire extinguishing system."
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