What Boeing says may be true but then again it may not.
The following was extracted from several of the above posts.
Those comments will be followed by my comments.
The hard, plastic like material doesn't dent like aluminum, so some airlines, such as Emirates, are concerned that damage would be hard to spot.
"The 'bangs' that cause minor damage to aluminum structure will not impact composite materials," Boeing said.
The composite material for the fuselage of the 7E7 will be the same as that used on the tail of the 777. Boeing said it has never had a maintenance issue with the composite tail of the 777, of which more than 400 are in service.
“Not sure I understand the comment by Boeing about the tail, don’t often get impact damage from trucks there”.
About ten years ago in the Boeing Everett facility an overhead crane was transferring a large jig/fixture. In the process of moving it a corner of the large metal fixture struck the composite tail of a 767 which was being assembled. The operator immediately contacted the production manager and he sent a man to inspect the damage. The crane operator said it was a glancing blow and he did not see any deformation. The man that inspected the tail indicated there was a minor abrasion of the composite skin and that the skin had not been damaged.
A short time later a composite repair technician inspected the damage. His job was to repair any damage incurred during production. He told the production manager that he was going to inspect inside the tail. He went inside and found that where the composite skin had been hit the inside structural ribs that were bonded on the inside of the fin had been ripped off from the skin and were damaged beyond repair. The fin had to be removed and a new one installed.
True, it wasn’t a truck but then again there are inspection stands that could cause similar damage.
Here is another point to ponder.
Boeing stated that they have incorporated embedded sensors that will detect damage. I can only assume that any indication of ground incurred damage will be made available to the pilot as well as the ground technician. If it has been determined that some level of damage has been incurred, does the download to the ground technician, or the information made available to the pilot, does the system pinpoint the damage location. And does it indicate that the plane can be dispatched with the repair being effected at the home base. Or, does the system determine that the damage is so severe that the aircraft must be repaired prior to the next flight. Who will make the repair and how long will the aircraft be listed as AOG?
