With the iconic plane-maker’s still unresolved problems with
its widely flown 737 Max, is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s oxygen system
problematic enough to raise a whistleblower’s concern?
By: Ringo Bones
Two days ago, a Boeing whistleblower had raised doubts and
alarm over the 787 Dreamliner’s oxygen system claiming that the passengers
flying on board the 787 Dreamliner could be left without life-saving oxygen in
a case of sudden cabin depressurization. A former quality control engineer from
Boeing named John Barnett says tests suggesting that up to a quarter of the
oxygen systems could be faulty and might not work when needed. He also claimed
faulty parts were deliberately fitted to planes on the production line at one
Boeing factory. Boeing denies his accusations and says all its aircraft are
built to the highest levels of safely and quality. With the “faulty” automatic
anti-stall system of their top-selling Boeing 737 Max, is this another unresolved
engineering problem that could become a catastrophic failure of the 787
Dreamliner?
Back in 2016, John Barnett told the BBC that he uncovered
problems with the emergency oxygen systems. These are supposed to keep
passengers and crew alive if the cabin pressurization fails for any reason at
altitude. Breathing masks are meant to drop down from the ceiling, which then
supply oxygen from a gas cylinder. Without such systems, the occupants of a
plane would rapidly be incapacitated. At 35,000-feet (10,600-meters) they would
be unconscious in less than a minute. At 40,000-feet, it could happen within 20
seconds. Brain damage and even death could follow.
Although sudden decompression events are rare, they do
happen. In April 2018, for example, a window blew out of a Southwest Airlines
aircraft after being hit by debris from a damaged engine. One passenger sitting
beside the window suffered serious injuries and later died as a result – but others
were able to draw on the emergency oxygen supplies and survived unharmed.
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