The giant Boeing 787s have a “potentially catastrophic” problem. Solution: reset them every 51 days.

“Have you tried turning the computer off and on?” This question, which is also a perennial meme among computer scientists, is actually one of the most popular ways to solve all sorts of problems with our computers and devices. Boeing is also going to use this, and rightly so.

Boeing 787 reset. As reported in The Register, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a directive requiring Boeing 787 operators to deactivate and reactivate the aircraft’s systems every 51 days to avoid what they describe as “several potentially catastrophic events.” failure scenarios.”

Outdated data. According to FAA experts, these dumps are necessary to prevent Boeing 787 systems from becoming filled with outdated data. The problem is actually not new and has been affecting various versions of the 787 for many years.

Why 51 days. The agency’s analysis found that if the systems on these aircraft remained active for more than 51 days, misleading data could appear on the screens. These will include aerodynamic speed, altitude or engine performance readings. Not only that, but the stall and speed warnings also stop working.

Auxiliary devices are always to the rescue. The Register contacted some pilots to ask them about the directive. One explained that “loss of airspeed data coupled with errors in engine instrumentation is not unusual” and noted that the directive did not seem to explain why these failures were potentially catastrophic. In addition, he explained, there are auxiliary instruments for measuring speed and altitude, completely separate from the main displays.

Do they never turn off? Commercial airlines typically maintain their aircraft for entire weeks while crew changes occur at airports and during phases while they are on the ground, such as cleaning and maintenance work. In these cases, they connect to power systems that allow them to continue to keep everything running.

This happened on other planes as well.. Turning systems off and on again in some aircraft has a long history: it happened with the Airbus A350, which had to be rebooted every 149 hours (a much shorter period) to avoid problems in flight.

Image | Boeing

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