Despite the promise of reduced crew costs, United Airlines initially demanded a conventional three-person cockpit, citing concerns about the risks associated with introducing a new aircraft. Cathode ray tube (CRT) color displays and new electronics replaced the role of the flight engineer by enabling the pilot and co-pilot to monitor aircraft systems directly. The 767 was the first Boeing wide-body to be designed with a two-crew digital glass cockpit. Work on both proposals proceeded through the airline industry upturn in the late 1970s. Many of these features were also included in a parallel development effort for a new mid-size narrow-body airliner, code-named 7N7, which would become the 757. Advancements in civil aerospace technology, including high-bypass-ratio turbofan engines, new flight deck systems, aerodynamic improvements, and more efficient lightweight designs were to be applied to the 7X7. As such, it was intended to transport large numbers of passengers between major cities. While airline requirements for new wide-body aircraft remained ambiguous, the 7X7 was generally focused on mid-size, high-density markets. The decision to use two engines reflected increased industry confidence in the reliability and economics of new-generation jet powerplants. The FAA did not comment.By 1976, a twinjet layout, similar to the one which had debuted on the Airbus A300, became the baseline configuration. Whether a lack of directive to secure the E/E bay from passenger access may be due to cost or lack of concern, it seems odd that such a public vulnerability is allowed to exist on such a popular aircraft. Will industry address this issue now?īoeing declined to comment. A 2012 video about the 777 E/E bay notes that the breakers for the flight deck door locking system are located in the E/E bay. But Air New Zealand confirmed the security flaw in the 777, said Crikey, after news surfaced that one of its captains locked a co-pilot out of the cockpit for several minutes. Indeed, Boeing published this article on how crew can avoid falls through proper and consistent use of hatch barriers.Įarlier this month the popular Crikey blogsuggested that the technical media “has been at pains not to discuss” an alternative access route to the cockpit for years. Additionally, it noted that some airlines have bolted the E/E hatch shut not because of security concerns, but due to incidents where employees would fall down the hatch when someone else was inside doing maintenance. The vulnerability seems to exist on some Boeing 777s, 767s and 747s, as other models (including those manufactured by Airbus) have either a locked access panel, or the panel is located inside the flight deck.Ī late 2013 post on (Professional Pilots Rumor Network) notes that the E/E hatch on the Boeing 787 requires a special tool to open, but that this security feature had not trickled down to the 777 at that time. Needless to say, any flight would be extremely vulnerable if a passenger were to access this bay in-flight. Also in the E/E bay are several tanks containing oxygen connected to the flight crews’ masks. AIMS provides flight and maintenance crews all pertinent information concerning the overall condition of the airplane, its maintenance requirements and its key operating functions, including flight, thrust and communications management, according to Boeing’s description. The systems in the E/E bay vary from fuse panels to the Airplane Information Management System (AIMS), also known as “the brains” of the aircraft. A recently posted YouTube video, later removed, shows how shockingly easy it is to access the E/E bay, and how seemingly little has been done to keep people out. The bay, referred to as the ‘E/E bay’, contains many of the 777’s extremely sensitive systems. In the forward galley area near the L1 door and flight deck, a small access panel sits below the carpet which acts as the gateway to the 777’s electronics and engineering bay. As the aviation industry secures itself by ensuring passenger personal electronic devices are charged and rerouting flights around war zones, a vulnerability lurks just beneath the carpet of the venerable Boeing 777, and has attracted attention on aviation forums and social media.
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