FAA orders cockpit panel fix on Boeing 787s

The FAA is ordering certain Boeing 787 operators to replace a cockpit mode control panel after reports that planes could change the altitude a pilot set without a command. The safety order covers 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 jets and takes effect July 20, 2026.

The fix is concrete: replace the existing mode control panel, or MCP, with an updated unit and then run an installation test. The point is to keep an altitude setting from drifting in a system pilots rely on for safe flight.

The panel in the middle

The mode control panel is part of the cockpit setup pilots use to select and hold altitude. When that setting does not behave the way crews expect, the problem can move from an annoyance to a safety risk very quickly.

The FAA says the directive covers 163 airplanes on the U.S. registry, including 28 registered to two foreign air carriers. After the new panel goes in, operators still have to verify the installation worked before the airplane goes back into service.

July 20 is the hard date

For airlines and maintenance crews, the job is to fit the repair into regular service without taking more aircraft out of rotation than necessary. The directive gives the industry a clear hardware change to make, rather than a vague recommendation to watch the issue.

For passengers, the change should stay mostly invisible. What matters is that a cockpit system used to manage altitude gets updated before the rule takes effect, so the plane does not carry a known control problem into normal operations.