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After confirmation that an inflight battery fire caused the crew of an ANA 787 to declare an emergency landing during a domestic flight, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded US-registered 787s.
In issuing an emergency airworthiness directive (AD), the FAA said: “The FAA will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective action plan to allow the US 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.”
The AD was prompted by the ANA 787 incident, the second fire caused by onboard lithium ion batteries in a week. A Japan Airlines 787 suffered a battery fire during turnaround in Boston.
In a statement the FAA explained: “The battery failures resulted in release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke on two Model 787 airplanes. The root cause of these failures is currently under investigation. These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment.”
While the FAA directive affects only US-registered aircraft, which for the moment involves only United Airlines’ six 787s, the AD carries weight in the determinations of other national authorities.
In response to the FAA action, Boeing said: “The safety of passengers and crew members who fly aboard Boeing airplanes is our highest priority.
“Boeing is committed to supporting the FAA and finding answers as quickly as possible. The company is working around the clock with its customers and the various regulatory and investigative authorities. We will make available the entire resources of The Boeing Company to assist.
“We are confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity. We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the traveling public of the 787’s safety and to return the airplanes to service.
“Boeing deeply regrets the impact that recent events have had on the operating schedules of our customers and the inconvenience to them and their passengers.”
The NTSB, meanwhile, is sending representative to Japan to participate in the investigation of the ANA battery fire.
There is currently no indication of when the 787 will return to US skies or what the impact will be on non-US-registered aircraft.
BANKS
says:Shouldn’t of used Eveready Super Heavy Duty
sheila dikshit
says:I hope they fix the battery problem soon
Nicholas Roche
says:They never seemed to have this problem with the launch of the Boeing 727 back in the 1960s. Then again, the pilot had to do a lot more to operate that aircraft compared to today’s modern jetliners.
sheila dikshit
says:Why is it taking along time to find the problem. the 787 have nearly been grounded for 1 week nearly and still have not found the problem. they must be bad engineers then?
Will that affect the 787-9 model being developed?
Nicholas Roche
says:I am sure the B787-9 will have its problems too, as most launches these days seem to be struck down with something. We will just have to wait and see what the problem is.
thomo
says:I THOUGHT THE NI CADS WERE FICKLE. LOOKS LIKE THESE LI IRON ARE JUST AS BAD !
THERMAL RUNAWAYS, REVERSED CELLS WHAT A NIGHTMARE.
JACK CAIRNS
says:GOOD AFTERNOON FOLKS – I SPENT 55 YRS WORKING ON VARIOUS AIRLINERS + MILITARY AIRCRAFT AS AN E+I = AIRCRAFT ENGINEER / ELECTRICAL – IN MOST TURBINE AIRPLANES THE MAIN BATTERIES HAVE OVER THE LAST 50 YRS BEEN SINTERED PLATE VENTED NI CADS – THE BETTER QUALITY ONES LIKE SAFT / VARTA DO NOT HAVE THE SUGGESTED PROBLEMS . SOME S.L.A..B ALSO WERE USED WITH NO PROBLEMS .
THE LI-ON CHEMICAL COUPLE IS UNSTABLE – THAT HAS BEEN PROVED IN MANY EXTENSIVE TESTS AROUND THE WORLD – THE MANUFACTURER OF THIS LI-ON HAS NEVER EVER BUILT AIRCRAFT TURBINE SPOOLING BATTERIES . AS THAT GUY SAID – IF GOOD NI CADS WERE OK ON THE MIGHTY B.727 + 767 + 757 ETC ETC – WHY RE-INVENT THE WHEEL .
BY THE WAY THE USE OF MINI SEALED LI-ON IN DOMESTIC TOYS HAS NOTHING IN COMMON WITH LARGE TURBINE SPOOLING AIRCRAFT MAIN BATTERIES – THE B.787 MAINS ARE 65 A/H – BOEING’s PROBLEMS CAN EASILY BE SOLVED BY RETROFITTING WITH GOOD QUALITY NI CADS – THEIR HEADACHE IS THE C/E DECIDED NOT TO QUALIFY THE B.787 WITH NI CADS AS AN ALTERNATIVE – HE IS CLAIMING HE IS SAVING WEIGHT – THE LI-ONs ARE ARO 60-80 LBS LIGHTER THAN THE NI CADS – AND HE HAS TO USE COMPLEX ELECTRONICS + BLAST SCREEN ON BOARD IN CASE THE LI-ON CATCHES ON FIRE ! – BEST REGARDS J.C.