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Carbon fiber is different from metal; it does not visibly show cracks and fatigue.
A few years ago, a former senior aerospace engineer at Boeing’s Phantom Works research unit, Vince Weldon, went public with concerns that the 787 Dreamliner was unsafe. He claimed that “in a crash landing that would be survivable in a metal airplane, the new jet’s innovative composite plastic materials will shatter too easily and burn with toxic fumes.”
“The brittleness of the plastic material from which the 787 fuselage is built would create a more severe impact shock to passengers than an aluminum plane, which absorbs impact in a crash by crumpling. A crash also could shatter the plastic fuselage, creating a hole that would allow smoke and toxic fumes to fill the passenger cabin.
After such a crash landing, the composite plastic material burning in a jet-fuel fire would create ‘highly toxic smoke and tiny inhalable carbon slivers’ that ‘would likely seriously incapacitate or kill passengers.’”
The Dreamliner's fuselage is made of carbon-fibre composite, a material that burns at a lower temperature than the aluminium alloy used in traditional aircraft designs. The fire has set up the first test of a major repair of the jet, which industry experts say airlines will be watching closely to determine both the length of time required and the cost to fix the jet's body.
It has been used for a really long time now, sorry if this is new to you.....
It has been used for a really long time now, sorry if this is new to you.....
The airline and Boeing Co declined to give further details but industry sources said they were treating seriously reports that the aircraft had been grounded for days after smoke was seen near an electrical panel.
The 787 has suffered a spate of mishaps in recent weeks, including a spontaneous fire on an Ethiopian Airlines-owned 787 that broke out while the plane was parked at a remote stand at London's Heathrow airport for eight hours on July 12.