Further checks as 787s stay grounded
Source: Agencies |
January 19, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AVIATION safety officials from the United States and Japan ended their initial investigation of a badly damaged battery from a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet yesterday, saying further checks would be made in Tokyo and could take a week to complete.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, US National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing joined Japanese authorities looking into what caused warning lights to go off on an All Nippon Airways Co domestic flight earlier this week, prompting the aircraft to make an emergency landing at Takamatsu airport in western Japan.
The incident prompted regulators in the US and around the world to ground the 50 Dreamliners in service.
The lightweight, mainly carbon-composite 787 has been plagued by mishaps, with safety concerns centered on its use of lithium-ion batteries, which pack more energy and are faster to recharge but which are potentially more volatile.
A Japanese safety official at Takamatsu said it was possible that excessive electricity may have overheated the battery and caused liquid to spill out. Pictures of the battery showed a misshapen, burnt out blue metal box with clear signs of liquid seepage.
At a news conference, the Japan Transport Safety Board said the battery and related systems would be sent to Tokyo for checks. It said there were similarities with an earlier fire on a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston Logan International Airport.
"The impact of this incident on the aviation industry is great. That's why we feel the importance of swiftly producing a comprehensive report, free from bias," said Hideyo Kosugi, a safety board inspector. "We hope to produce a report as soon as possible ... within a week."
He said the information would go to Boeing and the FAA who would assess it before allowing the 787 to fly again in Japan.
GS Yuasa Corp, the Japanese firm that makes batteries for the Dreamliner, sent three engineers to Takamatsu to help the investigation.
Meanwhile, Japan's transport ministry said a fuel leak on another Japan Airlines 787 last week was due to a malfunction in a drive mechanism that controls a valve. It said the British company that makes the valve was investigating.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, US National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing joined Japanese authorities looking into what caused warning lights to go off on an All Nippon Airways Co domestic flight earlier this week, prompting the aircraft to make an emergency landing at Takamatsu airport in western Japan.
The incident prompted regulators in the US and around the world to ground the 50 Dreamliners in service.
The lightweight, mainly carbon-composite 787 has been plagued by mishaps, with safety concerns centered on its use of lithium-ion batteries, which pack more energy and are faster to recharge but which are potentially more volatile.
A Japanese safety official at Takamatsu said it was possible that excessive electricity may have overheated the battery and caused liquid to spill out. Pictures of the battery showed a misshapen, burnt out blue metal box with clear signs of liquid seepage.
At a news conference, the Japan Transport Safety Board said the battery and related systems would be sent to Tokyo for checks. It said there were similarities with an earlier fire on a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston Logan International Airport.
"The impact of this incident on the aviation industry is great. That's why we feel the importance of swiftly producing a comprehensive report, free from bias," said Hideyo Kosugi, a safety board inspector. "We hope to produce a report as soon as possible ... within a week."
He said the information would go to Boeing and the FAA who would assess it before allowing the 787 to fly again in Japan.
GS Yuasa Corp, the Japanese firm that makes batteries for the Dreamliner, sent three engineers to Takamatsu to help the investigation.
Meanwhile, Japan's transport ministry said a fuel leak on another Japan Airlines 787 last week was due to a malfunction in a drive mechanism that controls a valve. It said the British company that makes the valve was investigating.
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