The FAA warned Boeing that its 787 Dreamliner has a serious software bug that could cut off electrical power and lead to a disastrous crash.
"We are issuing this AD [Airworthiness Directive] to prevent loss of all AC electrical power, which could result in loss of control of the aeroplane,"
said the FAA warning, issued Friday. This affects 28 planes currently on the U.S. registry.
The administration found that after running continuously for 248 days, the Dreamliner's generators go into failsafe mode. That means that after roughly 8 months of being on, all four of the plane's generator control units will fail simultaneously, cutting off all AC power in the aircraft, and resulting in a loss of control.
The glitch was discovered during laboratory testing, and a temporary fix appears to be simply switching the system off, and rebooting before approaching the drop-dead event every 248 days.
Cycling the power appears to be part of Boeing's regular maintenance routine for the time being, and the company is working on a long-term fix as well.
Reuters reported via Yahoo News that the Dreamliner has struggled in the past with a number of issues.
In November, there were reports that the proximity sensors on the plane's wings were prone to failure. In 2013, for example, the entire fleet was grounded due to a battery fire. A year before that, it was discovered that a computer chip in the plane was vulnerable to a hack wherein a perpetrator could potentially take over some if not all of the plane's controls remotely.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.