Boeing announced on Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration has cleared plans for the aviation giant to move forward with plans to test its new lithium ion battery system in flight tests on two of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
In the announcement, Boeing Commercial Aircraft CEO and president Ray Connor said the process for solving the battery problems on the Boeing 787 has been a comprehensive one.
“Working with internal and external experts in battery technology, we have proposed a comprehensive set of solutions that provide three layers of improvements in the battery system. First, we’ve improved design features of the battery to prevent faults from occurring and to isolate any that do. Second, we’ve enhanced production, operating and testing processes to ensure the highest levels of quality and performance of the battery and its components. Third, in the unlikely event of a battery failure, we’ve introduced a new enclosure system that will keep any level of battery overheating from affecting the airplane or being noticed by passengers”, Connors said.
The Boeing 787 hopes to back in the air soon
The flight testing process on the two 787 aircraft will determine that the proposed set of solutions work as intended in both normal and abnormal flight conditions.
All of the Boeing 787s currently in service were grounded in mid-January after two incidents involving the battery system occurred at a US airport and while a 787 was in flight on a domestic route in Japan.
Japan’s All Nippon Airways is Boeings largest customer for the 787, with 17 of the technologically advanced aircraft currently in its fleet. ANA has so far cancelled all Dreamliner flights through the end of May 2013; 3600 domestic and international flights in all.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday, All Nippon chief executive officer Osamu Shinobe said that regardless of FAA approvals, it could be some time before the airline has its fleet of 787 Dreamliners back in the air.
Mr. Shinobe cited the amount of time it would take to have each of its 17 Dreamliners outfitted with the new system and tested, as well as potential public unease with the aircraft, as factors the company is considering in any plans to get the planes back in the air.
“Seventeen of our planes are out of action, so we can’t just tell our customers to fly on the planes as soon as we’re finished fixing them,” Mr. Shinobe said in the interview.
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