The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an airworthiness directive (AD) concerning the Boeing 787's main landing gear. This follows a report indicating that a mandatory inspection was not completed during the manufacturing process of drag brace lower lock link assemblies for the aircraft's main landing gear.
Operators are now required to check maintenance records or inspect whether specific drag brace lower links were installed on their aircraft. The FAA issued this directive despite one airline suggesting that a requirement bulletin (RB) was sufficient to address the issue.
The RB, identified as Boeing Alert RB B787-81205-SB320048-00, was released on November 20, 2023. It recommends inspections within 48 months of its issuance or within 48 months after the original airworthiness certificate was issued for potentially affected aircraft. If airlines discover affected part serial numbers in their assemblies, they must replace these parts within the same timeframe.