US regulators have issued a directive for the inspections of Boeing 787 cockpit seats, after a spate of “uncommanded” seat movements reported among operators.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notice also follows a March incident involving a LATAM 787, where an involuntary forward shift in the pilot’s seat led to an in-flight upset that caused the plane to experience a “sudden unintentional” loss of altitude.
The agency says that since that March incident, which injured 10 passengers and three crew members, it has received four additional reports from Boeing of similar occurrences to cockpit seats.
The FAA found that three of the incidents were due to loose rocker switch caps located at the back of the captain and first officer’s seats.
“A rocker switch with a dislodged rocker switch cap, if depressed by the rocker switch cover guard, can cause unintended and sustained movement of the seat,” the FAA states.
The directive will affect 158 US-registered 787s, the agency adds. It is issuing the directive as a final rule, rather than open it for public consultation, given that there is a potential “risk to the flying public”.
“Uncommanded horizontal movement of an occupied seat can cause in-flight upset from unintended and abrupt flight control inputs, which could result in a rapid descent of the airplane and serious injury to passengers and crew,” the FAA states.
