Transportation
FAA Orders 787 Cockpit Seat Checks After Rise in Incidents
- Final directive follows reports of unexpected seat movements
- Regulator says issue can cause rapid descent, passenger injury
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The Federal Aviation Administration mandated that operators of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner inspect the jet’s cockpit seats after an uptick in reports about inadvertent movements disrupting flights.
Boeing warned operators in March that a switch located on the rear of pilots’ seats that activates a motor to move them up and back can possibly jam if the mechanism is loose or damaged. The notice followed a March incident where a Latam Airlines Group SA flight took a nosedive after a cockpit seat reportedly moved, throwing the pilot into the plane’s control column. Dozens of people were injured as a result of the mishap.