NEW DELHI: The alert for potential malfunction in braking and steering functions of certain models of Boeing 787 issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration applies to 23 Dreamliners (B787s) of Air India (AI). However, AI says this will not mean grounding of these planes as the required modifications do not affect safety and need to be made over five years. The airline stresses its Dreamliners — the workhorse for flights to Europe, far East and Australia — are perfectly safe to fly.“The FAA airworthiness directive (AD) has a service bulletin (SB) which gives us a list of components that have to be replaced. This SB gives us a five-year period to comply. We will not wait for five years and we will start right now. As soon as the spares come, we will start replacing and modifying the planes,” said a senior AI official.The airline plans to take up the job for each plane during each of the 23 B787’s next “C check” — a heavy maintenance check carried out every 1.5-2 years in a hangar during which a large number of components are checked. When the spares are taken out for checks, AI will replace the parts that need to be changed as per the FAA SB.“We will give a complete schedule of C checks that need to be carried out for these 23 Dreamliners to Boeing and ask them to ensure that the spare parts that need to be changed are given to us in time for the same. We are now writing to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also on this issue,” said the AI official.AI stresses its Dreamliners are perfectly safe to fly. “There are no safety concerns. They have been flying with us for all these years. FAA has done some investigation and found certain areas that could potentially see a snag. Accordingly, they have issued an AD but they also feel the changes mandated can be carried out over five years. We are not going to wait for that long and do it much before that,” said the official.AI has 27 B787-8, of which three are currently grounded for want of engine and spares. A fourth Dreamliner, VT-ANU, was grounded since early March, 2019, and has returned to service a couple of days back. The other three grounded Dreamliners are expected to resume flying by July-end.The FAA on May 2, 2019, issued an AD for B787s that became effective from Thursday. “We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 airplanes. This was prompted by a determination that certain areas in the tire/wheel threat zones could be susceptible to damage, which could result in loss of braking on one main landing gear (MLG) truck, loss of nose wheel steering, and loss of directional control on the ground when below rudder effectiveness speed,” the AD said.“This AD requires installing hydraulic tubing, a pressure-operated check valve, and new flight control software. We are issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products. This AD is effective June 6, 2019,” the FAA directive adds.Boeing had on Wednesday said these issues regarding the B787s have “been long since resolved with system improvements that have been incorporated into production for all 787 models. Boeing works closely with FAA to monitor the fleet for potential safety issues and take appropriate actions. This is an ongoing and continuous process.”“Boeing issued three service bulletins in 2017 and early 2018 to install new fixes for an identified issue with certain areas in tire/wheel threat zones that may be susceptible to damage. The FAA published an airworthiness directive (AD) mandating that 787 operators install hydraulic tubing, a pressure-operated check valve, and new flight control software. The mandate aligns with Boeing’s previous recommendation in two separate service bulletins to operators. Boeing's recommendations are not binding on operators. Only a regulatory agency has the authority to require them. That is what the FAA’s rule does,” the Boeing spokesperson added.