Washington, D.C.: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has flagged a serious safety issue with the Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 planes. They want to issue a new airworthiness directive (AD) that would require checks of the ram air turbine (RAT) forward fittings. The order came after numerous vendors said that these important parts may have been made with the wrong titanium alloy, which could be of lower quality.
The FAA’s notice says that the titanium material that might be used is Grade 1 or 2 commercially pure unalloyed titanium. This type of titanium is far weaker, more prone to fatigue, and less able to withstand damage than the required aerospace-grade Grade 5 titanium alloy. If a RAT forward fitting fails during deployment because of this material flaw, it might cause the RAT module to “snap off” from the airplane and lose backup hydraulic and/or electrical supply.
A RAT is a compact, foldable turbine that an airplane can use in an emergency, as when the engine fails completely, to provide backup power for important systems like navigation and flying controls.
The FAA’s proposed AD would require operators of the impacted Boeing 787 models to employ a high-frequency eddy current or a handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to check the titanium alloy used. All parts that were created with the wrong material would have to be replaced. Boeing has verified that it sent its customers advice in February 2025 and fully supports the FAA’s plan to make this advice required. The company also said that the fleet that is currently in service can “continue normal operations” while the inspections are going on.
For the Indian aviation industry, this safety issue is especially important. Air India, which is controlled by Tata, currently has seven Boeing 787-9 planes after merging with Vistara. The report says that the pre-merger Air India fleet of Boeing 787-8 versions (including the one that crashed in Ahmedabad on Air India Flight 171) may not have to go through this inspection. However, the safety of all aircraft is a top priority right now.
The FAA is sending out this alert because they think that this “unsafe condition” is likely to happen or already exists on other goods that are made the same way. This is part of a bigger worry about the integrity of the supply chain and the usage of permitted materials in aerospace manufacturing.