Federal Register #2026-13217

FAA Airworthiness Directive for Boeing 787: Radio Altimeter Interference Mitigation in Canadian Airspace

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an airworthiness directive (AD) for all Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 airplanes due to potential radio altimeter interference from 5G wireless broadband in Canadian airspace. - Government Buyer: - Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Continued Operational Safety Branch - OEM Highlight: - The Boeing Company is the only OEM mentioned - Products/Services Requested: - Revision of the Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) for non-radio altimeter tolerant Boeing 787 aircraft to prohibit certain landings and MEL item usage in Canadian airspace - Applies to an estimated 192 U.S.-registered airplanes - Optional modifications to achieve radio altimeter tolerance: - Radio altimeter replacement (estimated cost up to $120,000 per airplane) - Filter addition to the radio altimeter system (estimated cost up to $14,040 per filter) - Notable Requirements: - Compliance is required before further flight in Canadian airspace for affected airplanes - Airplanes already equipped with radio altimeter tolerant systems are exempt from these limitations - The directive is an interim action and may be updated based on future changes in the Canadian 5G environment - No specific part numbers or brands for radio altimeters or filters are provided

Description

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all The Boeing Company Model 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 airplanes. This AD addresses interference issues with radio altimeters caused by wireless broadband operations in the 3.7-3.98 GHz frequency band (5G Lower C-Band) while operating in Canadian airspace. The interference may prevent certain airplane systems from properly transitioning from AIR to GROUND mode during landing, resulting in longer landing distances due to effects on thrust reverser deployment, speedbrake deployment, and increased idle thrust. The AD requires revising the airplane flight manual to incorporate limitations prohibiting certain operations requiring radio altimeter data in Canadian airspace to mitigate this unsafe condition.

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