After 787 dive, Boeing alerts airlines to issue with pilot seat switches

Boeing alerted airlines to a potential problem with loose switches on the pilot seats of its 787 Dreamliner jets after one of the planes went into a d...

Boeing alerted airlines to a potential problem with loose switches on the pilot seats of its 787 Dreamliner jets after one of the planes went into a dive this week on a flight from Australia to New Zealand that injured 50 people.

The jets have a switch on the back of the pilot seats that can be used to move the seats forward and backward. Were the switch to get stuck while someone was sitting in the seat, it could press their body against the plane’s controls. In a bulletin to airlines, Boeing said that if part of the switch is loose, a cover over the top can cause it to jam, "resulting in unintended seat movement.”

The bulletin does not refer to the dive incident, which authorities are in the early stages of investigating.

Boeing said in a statement Friday that it was reminding airlines of a 2017 service bulletin addressing an issue with the switches that included instructions for inspections and maintenance.

"We are recommending operators perform an inspection at the next maintenance opportunity,” Boeing said in a statement.