The largest passenger rights group in the United States has called on the Trump administration to take urgent action to address what it describes as a ‘dangerous design defect’ in many Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which could cause water to leak from the restrooms and damage flight-critical equipment.
Although Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights, wrote to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about his concerns in a letter that was cosigned by seven aviation safety experts, the administration has yet to respond.
FAA demands changes to Boeing 787 lavatories due to leaky faucets
In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set about creating a rulemaking that would require airlines to carry out frequent inspections of the lavatories on their Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleets after it was discovered that water could leak into the electronic equipment bays located underneath the restrooms.
The issue came to light after an unidentified airline reported significant concerns to the FAA about multiple water leaks coming from sink faucets in their 787 Dreamliners.
The airline first discovered a wet carpet close to the flight deck and carried out work to trace the source of the water. It turned out that a faulty o-ring in the ‘faucet control module’ was the reason behind the leak.
While these water leaks were normally quite minor, there were cases where a significant amount of water could escape without anyone being aware of an issue.
In its notice of proposed rulemaking, the FAA warned that if the issue wasn’t addressed, the water could leak onto flight-critical electrical equipment, which could result in the “loss of continued safe flight and landing.”
The FAA initially ordered airlines to carry out frequent inspections but last year, the agency created a new rule that requires airlines to replace the ‘faucet control module’ on affected planes with a redesigned version that doesn’t leak.
In addition, airlines are also required to install moisture management devices underneath Dreamliner lavatories just in case there is a leak that goes undetected.
Passenger rights group says compliance time isn’t urgent enough
Paul Hudson from FlyersRights, however, is concerned that the FAA has been far too generous in the amount of time it has given airlines to comply with the new airworthiness directive, as affected carriers have until 2030 to complete the modifications.
“This is a serious safety concern that requires immediate corrective action,” Hudson warned last week. “We cannot wait five years merely hoping there’s not another electrical failure aboard a packed Boeing 787-9.”
Hudson’s concerns have been backed up by Ed Pierson, Executive Director for the Foundation for Aviation Safety, who said he was “disgusted by the FAA proposed compliance time.”
Was a water leak responsible for the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner?
Pierson raises the possibility that the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner on June 12, 2025, might not have been caused by one of the pilots.
Air India flight AI-171 crashed just moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport, claiming the lives of all but one of the 261 passengers and crew on board.
The crash is still very much the subject of an active investigation, although a preliminary report revealed that the fuel cutoff switches were apparently turned off in quick succession, just seconds after takeoff.
The report included a brief passage of conversation between the two pilots, in which one asked why the engines had been shut off, and the other responded that he had not touched them.
One of the leading theories behind the cause of the crash is that one of the pilots deliberately cut the fuel to the engines, although Pierson says that “all possible failure scenarios should be exhaustively investigated before blame is placed on Air India pilots.”
Bottom line
The FAA is proposing that airlines replace faucet control modules in Boeing 787 Dreamliner lavatory sinks with a new model that doesn’t leak. The rulemaking supersedes an order that airlines carry out regular inspections of FCMs to ensure they are not leaking.
If a leak were to go undetected, the FAA is concerned that the water could damage critical electrical equipment. Although regular inspections are still taking place, FlyersRights believes that immediate fixes are required.
