Japanese officials have ordered the country’s carriers to inspect their Boeing 787s following the deadly crash involving a 787-8 operated by Air India, while their US counterparts have stopped short of grounding the type.
According to a report by Kyodo News, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) issued instructions to All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, as well as their respective medium-haul, low-cost units AirJapan and ZipAir, to inspect “engines and airframes” of their 787 fleets.
Japan’s two largest carriers are major 787 operators, with more than 130 examples in service.
Transport minister Hiromasa Nakano is quoted as saying the MLIT will “take necessary measures” after collecting information from the operators, as well as investigations into the 12 June crash.
The fatal accident involved a 12-year-old 787-8 (VT-ANB), which crashed after taking off from Ahmedabad at 13:38 local time.
Powered by twin GE Aerospace GEnx turbofans, the jet was carrying 242 passengers and crew. All but one died in the crash.
The crash has shaken the global aerospace industry as India’s worst aviation accident in decades and the first example of a fatal accident involving a 787 Dreamliner, Boeing’s flagship widebody jet.
Indian officials have kicked off investigations into the accident, with support from the US’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA.
Meanwhile, US officials have said it is “too premature” to call for a grounding of the 787, saying that they have not seen any immediate safety risks to do so.
Acting administration of the FAA Chris Rocheleau, who was asked about this at a briefing, says: “We have assembled…an expert team to work with the NTSB and the Indian authorities…As we proceed down this road with the investigation…if there is any information that becomes available to us regarding any risk, we will mitigate those risks immediately,” he says.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy, also speaking at the same event, adds that it “would be way too premature” to ground the 787.
“People are looking at videos and trying to assess what happened, which is never a smart way to make decisions on what took place,” Duffy states.
