Exclusive look inside a Boeing 787 inspection

It's the final push before Boeing delivers the first ever 787 Dreamliner. Mechanics are opening up the airplane from front to back and putting stairs in place because tomorrow, launch customer A&A is coming to make one last inspection. Get everything prepared for them to come through, make sure everything is nice and shiny, everything is good and right. Inside, mechanics are checking and double-checking the major systems, even going seat to seat to manually test buttons. When you're selling a highly advanced jetliner made up of millions of parts, it comes down to the smallest of details. It is very tedious. It's an ongoing basis until the airplane is handed over to the customer. The next morning, a team of inspectors from A&A arrives with a long list of checks. They fan out and begin what will be a 10-hour inspection of the airplane's structure, systems and the cabin interior. Our inspection is very important. We have to receive the high-quality airplane for our customers. The inspectors open with the cargo bay doors. Then it's on to the engines and the wing. Soon the flight control surfaces are given a workout, up, down, side to side, as technicians in the flight deck go through a series of maneuvers. Every major airplane function and many minor ones are checked, including the windshield wipers. Back in the cabin, inspectors run through different lighting schemes in the ceiling, darken the new dimmable windows, and air out the public announcement system. The stow bins are opened and closed. The reading lights are turned on and each socket evaluated. The toilets get flushed. It doesn't stop until the A&A team and Boeing customer support examine every facet of the cabin and agree that each one conforms to specifications. They are very conscious of quality. They're looking at things sometimes for the third or fourth time to make sure they're as good as we can possibly get them. Two days later, the airplane is put back together so it can clear one final hurdle. An A&A pilot joins the inspection team, and they take the 787 out for a 3- to 4-hour test flight. During the flight, many of the same functions are checked again. It's all part of the extensive pre-delivery process to make sure the airline is happy with the airplane since they'll be flying it for decades to come. And they know the system, so if they find any flaws, they let us know and we will correct them. People's lives depend on the quality of this airplane. People's livelihoods depend on this airplane. It's very important to have everything as designed.