FAA mandates new slat actuators and AFM limitations on Boeing 787

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is superseding Airworthiness Directive 2019-20-07 affecting Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 aircraft. Prompted by additional corrective measures developed by the manufacturer to mitigate an identified unsafe condition, the updated regulatory mandate maintains prior operational restrictions while introducing structural hardware modifications.

Under the continuing provisions of the superseded directive, operators must maintain repetitive operational checks of the leading edge outboard slats and execute necessary on-condition actions. Crucially for flight operations, the mandate keeps the Airplane Flight Manual revision that strictly prohibits flight crews from retracting flaps under icing conditions following landing. Scheduled maintenance or inspection programs must also continue to include the mandated operational check.

In addition to these preserved baseline requirements, the superseding directive introduces hardware replacements. Operators are instructed to remove the leading edge outboard geared rotary actuator at outboard slat stations and install a leading edge outboard lockout actuator. Furthermore, the measure mandates updates to existing maintenance and inspection programs to integrate a newly established certification maintenance requirement.