WASHINGTON – Despite a battery fire in one Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner and smoke in another, the type of batteries used to power the plane’s electrical systems aren’t necessarily unsafe — manufacturers just need to build in reliable safeguards, the top U.S. aviation safety investigator said Wednesday.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said she doesn’t want to “categorically” rule out the use of lithium-ion batteries to power aircraft systems, even though it’s clear that safeguards failed in the case of a Japan Airlines Corp. 787 that experienced a battery fire while parked at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
“Obviously, what we saw in the 787 battery fire in Boston shows us there were some risks that were not mitigated, that were not addressed,” Hersman told reporters. The fire was “not what we would have expected to see in a brand-new battery in a brand-new airplane.”
The NTSB is still weeks away from determining the cause of the Jan. 7 battery fire, she said.
At the same time, Boeing received permission in the U.S. from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly one of its Dreamliners from Fort Worth, Texas, to Everett, Washington, on Thursday. The permission is for a single flight for the purpose of relocating the plane and is not a test flight, the FAA said in a statement.
The FAA is still considering a separate Boeing request to conduct test flights, the agency said.
Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said the firm is still trying to find the cause of the battery incidents: “We are confident — as is the FAA — that the 787 is safe to operate for this activity. Safety of the crew on board is our top priority.”
The 787 is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries, which are lighter and can store more energy than other types of batteries of an equivalent size. Aircraft makers view them as an important way to pare fuel costs. The Airbus A350, expected to be ready next year, will also make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries. Manufacturers are also looking to retrofit existing planes by replacing other types of batteries.
But lithium batteries are more likely to short circuit and start a fire than other batteries if they are damaged, if there is a manufacturing flaw or if they are exposed to excessive heat.
Investigators are also looking into the special conditions the FAA required Boeing to meet in order to use lithium-ion batteries to power the 787 electrical systems. A government-industry advisory board that works closely with the FAA issued testing standards for lithium batteries used in aircraft operations several months after the agency had approved a separate testing regime for the 787 batteries.
“What happens is that when an aircraft is certified, it basically gets locked into the standards that were in existence at the time,” NTSB chief Hersman said.
Oftentimes, tougher standards will come along later, but aren’t applied to already-approved aircraft designs. “Those are issues we do look at regularly in our investigations and it is something I’m sure we will be focusing on with the battery,” she said.
ANA to scrub 681 flights
Kyodo
All Nippon Airways Co. said Thursday it will cancel 681 flights from March 1 to 30 as a result of the global grounding of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner jets, inconveniencing an additional 25,500 people.
The cancellations will thus bring ANA’s total from Jan. 16 to March 30 to 1,887 flights, affecting about 126,200 people. The cancellations in March include 461 flights on nine domestic routes and 220 on seven international routes.
The domestic routes include those from Tokyo’s Haneda airport to Okayama, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Kagoshima.
The international routes involved connect Narita airport with Seattle, San Jose, California, and Seoul.
Meanwhile, sources said the transport ministry will waive parking fees for Dreamliners run by ANA and Japan Airlines Co. at four airports under its control, while Narita International Airport is considering similar waivers for the two carriers plus United Airlines.
The four ministry-run airports are Tokyo’s Haneda, Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture, Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture, and Kumamoto.
ANA and JAL have a total of 14 planes subject to the waiver, which will effectively support the carriers financially while they lose revenue from the grounding.
ANA estimates it lost ¥1.4 billion in January alone, while JAL is anticipating a ¥1.1 billion loss for the January-March quarter.
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