Boeing 787 Wings Get Ultrasonic Checks for Shim Gaps
Published Date: 8/27/2026
Rule
Summary
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 airplanes. This AD was prompted by a Boeing investigation for manufacturing errors and excessive preload forces at the lower side of body (SOB) splice plates common to the lower outboard wing skins. That investigation concluded that shim gaps may have exceeded engineering allowances, and high pull up forces on the components may cause fatigue cracks to form at the fastener holes. This AD requires, depending on configuration, repetitive ultrasonic (UT) inspections at certain splice plates, rear spar terminal fittings, lower chords, front spar terminal fittings, and jack pads for any cracks; repetitive detailed inspections (DET) of certain splice plates for any cracks; and applicable on-condition actions. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Mandatory Inspections and Repairs for Boeing 787s
If you operate certain Boeing Model 787-8, 787-9, or 787-10 airplanes, you must perform repetitive ultrasonic (UT) and detailed (DET) inspections at specified splice plates, rear and front spar terminal fittings, lower chords, and jack pads, and do required on-condition repairs per Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin B787-81205-SB570048-00 RB, Issue 001, dated August 11, 2025. The AD is effective October 1, 2026, applies to airplanes identified in that Boeing bulletin, and the FAA estimates it affects 17 U.S.-registered airplanes with inspection costs up to 286 work hours × $85 = $24,310 per inspection cycle and up to $413,270 total for U.S. operators per inspection cycle.
Equation-Based Compliance Time Tracking Required
The AD requires using equation-based compliance times that combine total flight hours/total flight cycles (TFH/TFC) for initial inspections and flight hours/flight cycles (FH/FC) for repetitive inspections, as specified in Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin B787-81205-SB570048-00 RB, Issue 001 (dated August 11, 2025). The FAA reviewed a request to allow only simple TFH/TFC or FH/FC limits and rejected it, keeping the equation-based method.
FAA Finds No Significant Small-Entity Impact
The FAA certified that this AD "will not have a significant economic impact, positive or negative, on a substantial number of small entities" under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. That finding is part of the rule's regulatory analysis.
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