The Federal Aviation Administration is taking action after learning that fittings on some Boeing 787 ram air turbines (RATs) were produced using inferior titanium that could be subject to failure.
The agency issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that if approved would require airlines to inspect the fittings. Just nine 787s, including 787-9s and 787-10s, would be affected.
Last year, reports surfaced that some Boeing and Airbus jets contained unapproved titanium sourced from China and supplied by Spirit AeroSystems, which produces airframes and related components to both aircraft manufacturers.
Those reports came after the aerospace industry and businesses in other sectors had been scrambling to find new sources of titanium amid shortages brought on Western sanctions against Russia, which has long been a top titanium supplier.
The FAA’s new proposed rule “was prompted by reports of multiple supplier notices of escapement indicating that ram air turbine forward fittings were possibly manufactured with an incorrect titanium alloy,” says the document, published on 28 July in the US government’s regulatory document repository.
“The titanium material that was possibly used is a Grade 1 or 2 commercially pure unalloyed titanium, which has significantly reduced strength, fatigue and damage tolerance properties” than the “Grade 5 Ti-6AI-4V alloy” that was supposed to be used, the FAA says.
It does not say how the unapproved metal ended up on the jets and does not name the supplier of the RAT fittings.
One of Collins Aerospace’s predecessor companies had previously produced 787 ram air turbines. Collins, still a primary RAT supplier, did not immediately comment. Boeing did not comment. Collins in 2024 took a $175 million charge related to switching titanium suppliers.
The FAA says fittings produced with the unapproved titanium “could fail when the RAT is deployed”, leaving aircraft without backup power. The RATs could also break off and fall from the aircraft.
The proposed rule notes that Boeing responded to the concern by issuing an Alert Requirements Bulletin in February. That document called on operators to inspect RAT fittings using either the high-frequency eddy current or X-ray fluorescence-spectrometer methods.
The FAA’s proposed rule, if finalised, would require that operators complete those inspections.
