Boeing Uses Delays to Fine-tune 787 Maintenance Plan

While no one at Boeing would dare admit to any level of satisfaction with six separate

By Gregory Polek • Senior Editor

October 30, 2009

While no one at Boeing would dare admit to any level of satisfaction with six separate
delays to first flight of the 787, silver linings do exist behind the cloud that has hung over the program for the better part of two and a half years. Take, for example, the airplane’s maintenance schedules. Afforded extra time to perform a more thorough analysis of the 787’s requirements, program chief mechanic Justin Hale and his team managed to win certification for virtually all of the airplane’s 760 recommended intervals.

“Certifying a maintenance program and getting all of the data transmitted to the FAA and the industry steering committee, [having it] analyzed and settling on certifiable intervals is always a challenge when you’re putting a new type into service. And you always feel rushed to get that done,” said Hale. “The nature of this industry is if you don’t feel like you have enough time to analyze something thoroughly, then you err way on the side of caution.”

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