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WASHINGTON - Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner airliner may turn out to be unsafe and could lead to more deaths in crashes, according to a report by veteran journalist Dan Rather.
The new aircraft, which is mostly made from brittle carbon compounds rather than flexible aluminium, is more likely to shatter on impact and may emit poisonous chemicals when ignited, the former CBS News anchor reported.
His broadcast, on subscription TV, was based on interviews with a former Boeing engineer and various industry experts, a transcript of his show said.
Vince Weldon, the engineer, compares a recent crash in a standard aluminium airliner where the dented but intact fuselage kept fire at bay and allowed the passengers to leave the aircraft alive.
A composite airframe fuselage would shatter, letting fire in, he said.
Weldon says he was fired by Boeing after a 46-year career because of his persistent complaints about the design of the 787. He claims he represents the view of others at Boeing who were afraid to speak out.
Boeing rejected Weldon's criticisms.
"We've looked at Mr Weldon's claims. We've had technical committees review them. We do an exceptional amount of testing," said Lori Gunter, a spokeswoman for Boeing's commercial aircraft unit. "Absolutely, these materials are safe. They are tested, they will be certified."
She said the US Federal Aviation Administration must find the 787 to be as crashworthy as aluminum aircraft, and the plane was doing well in those tests so far.
Speaking to the Herald from Seattle yesterday, Gunter said: "We have looked at what happens to the composite material when it burns, its burn-through properties are actually much more favourable than aluminium. We have to measure the toxicity of the smoke, we also have to demonstrate the impact resistance and the properties inside the fuselage during an event.
"[Weldon] was not assigned to commercial airplanes, he has been away from the company for about a period of a year. He clearly did not understand the testing that had been done, that would be done, and certainly didn't know what happened in the year that he has been gone."
She said Weldon had left under a cloud over comments made to an African American supervisor. Weldon threatened the man and said he wanted to hang him up by a meat hook.
The first of Boeing's lightweight, fuel-efficient 787s is due to be delivered to Japan's All Nippon Airways in May next year, meaning it will have at most six months of flight tests, much shorter than previous jetliner programmes.
In Rather's report, Weldon and other experts argue that the carbon-composite fuselage would emit toxic fumes when burning, and could easily be damaged without any visible sign.
Rather's report also includes aviation experts who see little or no problem with the 787. The story appears in Dan Rather Reports, broadcast on HDNet, a subscription-only television channel that about four million Americans view. Last year Rather left CBS after a scandal over his reporting on US President George W. Bush's military record.
- Reuters, staff reporter
AIR NZ COMMITTED TO THE DREAM
By Simon O'Rourke
Air New Zealand's is committed to its $1.68 billion investment in eight Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
The company says it will take delivery of the first Dreamliner in late 2010, with the bulk of them to come in to service in the following two years.
Air New Zealand declined to say whether it had been in talks with Boeing about the issue, or if Boeing had given Air New Zealand information on how safety tests were progressing.
However, it issued a short statement in response to the Rather report it said: "Air New Zealand is confident that Boeing will continue its track record of delivering to the aviation market aircraft that meet the highest safety standards."
