In the most candid statement yet on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?s battery problems, the chief of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told reporters the grounding of the airplane was ?an unprecedented event?. Chairman Deborah Hersman began a 40-minute presentation saying that the agency was investigating the one thing no one ever wants to experience, ?fire on board an airplane?. In two weeks time ?we saw two cases of battery failure of the 787 and the grounding of the fleet by the FAA. The significance of these events cannot be understated.?
Using a Power Point presentation full of photos and diagrams, Hersman said tests of the lithium ion battery that caught fire on a Japan Airlines 787 on 7 January in Boston and the one that malfunctioned on All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight from Yamaguchi to Tokyo on 16 January were not finished. The ANA battery event is being studied by the Japan Transportation Safety Board.? But the JAL battery did show evidence of thermal runaway and a short circuit. In the E&E bay where the fire occurred, Hersman said the ?battery was spewing molten electrolytes, very hot material around the APU battery?.
Hersman did not predict how long the airliner will remain grounded or estimate the length of her agency?s investigation. She said the board was operating with ?all hands on deck?.
In Japan, where half of the Dreamliner fleet of 50 airplanes is being operated by JAL and ANA, there have been flight cancellations. Japan Airlines flies Dreamliners on routes between Tokyo and Moscow, Singapore, Beijing, Boston and San Diego. Carol?Anderson, a spokeswoman for the airline said so far, 4,020 passengers have been affected by flight cancellations, though the airline is utilizing Boeing 777 and 767s on some of the routes and ?announcing schedule adjustment decisions as soon as they are made so that customers can also make early travel arrangements?.
Anderson said operations ?are being based on ship availability and rotation?.
At United Airlines, ?the operational impact is minimal?, says Mary Ryan, an airline spokeswoman, explaining that with only 10 Dreamliner flights a day, the airline has so far avoided cancellations. ?We have been able to use a mix of aircraft in our fleet.?
Two Dreamliner customers remain publicly optimistic. In a newspaper interview United CEO Jeff Smisek praised the plane. ?The aircraft is a terrific aircraft.? He said he is confident the public will want to fly it when the problems are resolved.
At Norwegian, chief executive Bjorn Kjos, had intended to launch his airline?s first flights between New York and Oslo in the spring using two Boeing 787s yet to be delivered. He told Reuters earlier this week he was reassured by Boeing that the plane would return to flight shortly. ?They say it is going to be fixed soon; they have a plan. They say it will be delivered according to the schedule,? Reuters quoted Kjos saying.
JAL?s spokeswoman was less committal. When asked when the plane might be allowed to fly, Anderson said, ?To be determined.?
The NTSB has more than Boeing under study. Hersman said a special team had been assigned to examine how the FAA determined that the use of lithium ion batteries could be safely accomplished, an investigation that could also look into the use of the batteries on other airplane models.
?What we have seen with these two events, they do not comport with any of the risk analysis that we would expect to see with respect to reliability, with respect to a smoke or fire event,? Hersman said. ?These events should not happen as far as design of the aircraft is concerned.?
A statement about the batteries on Boeing?s web site says, ?There are multiple backups to ensure the system is safe.? On Thursday, Hersman said finding out why those backups did not work is part of the investigation.
Christine Negroni writes about aviation and travel for The New York Times, Executive Travel and Airways and blogs at www.christinenegroni.blogspot.com and http:gohowknowhow.com
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