Dreamliner ...NTSB VS FAA......
May 22nd the NTSB Urges the FAA to better test the Dreamliner Lithium Ion Batteries. Lives are at stake and the initial testing was NOT good enough.
May 28th the FAA completely ignores the NTSB and approves the Dreamliner for long distance (over the ocean) flights.
Boeing is thrilled. The FAA is thrilled. The NTSB (who will have to clean up the wreckage after these planes crash) must be shaking their heads in disbelief.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/22/ntsb-dreamliner-boeing-faa-lithium-ion-batteries-united-japan-all-nippon/9433841/
More and better tests should be performed on the batteries aboard Boeing's 787 Dreamliners to avoid the smoky overheating aboard two planes that grounded the fleet last year.
The National Transportation Safety Board made five recommendations to the FAA for testing lithium-ion batteries and consulting more with experts about what could go wrong aboard planes with the new technology.
"The NTSB is vitally interested in these recommendations because they are designed to prevent accidents and save lives," said the 12-page letter from board members Christopher Hart, Robert Sumwalt, Mark Rosekind and Earl Weener.
The FAA issued a statement saying it will review (ignore) the NTSB recommendations, but that it is already working closely with battery experts and foreign aviation authorities to update standards for lithium-ion batteries on planes.
NTSB and the FAA each continue to investigate what the safety board described as "heavy smoke" and "small flames" in a lithium-ion battery aboard a Japan Airlines plane parked at Boston's Logan airport in January 2013. (They have no conclusion as to what caused the fires….. but hey that shouldn’t stop you from putting your family onboard and heading out over the ocean.)
Nine days later, a smoldering battery forced an All Nippon Airways flight to make an emergency landing in Japan. Nobody was injured in either incident, but the FAA grounded the fleet for more than three months while studying what went wrong.
In March, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta concluded a year-long review of the Dreamliner's overall certification by reiterating that "the aircraft is safe and that it meets its intended level of design and safety." (The FAA said the plane was safe before the fires too. Everything is safe and fine….Fly on.)
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner said the findings validated the company's confidence in the plane and the process of correcting problems when they arise. (Take a bow Boeing)
But the NTSB found that to get the plane certified, Boeing tested the batteries by driving a nail into the side of one rather than provoking an internal short-circuit through overheating or other abuse.
Investigators found electrical arcing about the Boston battery and excessive current flowing between the battery and charger before it overheated and went out of control in what is called a "thermal runaway." (You don’t need to worry about a Thermal Runaway though….. just remember the Boeing chief has confidence. That should be enough for you)
"However, Boeing underestimated the more serious effects of an internal short-circuit," the NTSB said. (of course they did)
The board said its findings were urgent enough to recommend that the FAA: (Urgent….Smurgent)
• Develop tests to short-circuit one of the eight cells in a battery aboard a plane to see whether a thermal runaway spreads.
• Require Boeing and other manufacturers to conduct the tests on any permanently installed lithium-ion batteries aboard planes. (Testing is for sissy’s)
• Work with experts to develop standards for testing batteries.
• Review the methods that certified batteries on planes and possibly require more testing.
• Create a panel of independent technical experts to advise the FAA on certifying new technology.
The NTSB asked the FAA to respond to the recommendations within 90 days.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/boeing-787-dreamliner-wins-faa-approval-longer-flights-n116691
The approval, known as ETOPS, will allow airlines to fly routes that are up to 330 minutes, or 5-1/2 hours, away from a landing field.
(So when the “Out of Control - thermal runaway” happens over the Pacific Ocean you will only have to keep your fingers crossed for 5 ½ hours before you can land (and get away from that flying death trap. Good luck with that!)
May 28th the FAA completely ignores the NTSB and approves the Dreamliner for long distance (over the ocean) flights.
Boeing is thrilled. The FAA is thrilled. The NTSB (who will have to clean up the wreckage after these planes crash) must be shaking their heads in disbelief.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/22/ntsb-dreamliner-boeing-faa-lithium-ion-batteries-united-japan-all-nippon/9433841/
More and better tests should be performed on the batteries aboard Boeing's 787 Dreamliners to avoid the smoky overheating aboard two planes that grounded the fleet last year.
The National Transportation Safety Board made five recommendations to the FAA for testing lithium-ion batteries and consulting more with experts about what could go wrong aboard planes with the new technology.
"The NTSB is vitally interested in these recommendations because they are designed to prevent accidents and save lives," said the 12-page letter from board members Christopher Hart, Robert Sumwalt, Mark Rosekind and Earl Weener.
The FAA issued a statement saying it will review (ignore) the NTSB recommendations, but that it is already working closely with battery experts and foreign aviation authorities to update standards for lithium-ion batteries on planes.
NTSB and the FAA each continue to investigate what the safety board described as "heavy smoke" and "small flames" in a lithium-ion battery aboard a Japan Airlines plane parked at Boston's Logan airport in January 2013. (They have no conclusion as to what caused the fires….. but hey that shouldn’t stop you from putting your family onboard and heading out over the ocean.)
Nine days later, a smoldering battery forced an All Nippon Airways flight to make an emergency landing in Japan. Nobody was injured in either incident, but the FAA grounded the fleet for more than three months while studying what went wrong.
In March, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta concluded a year-long review of the Dreamliner's overall certification by reiterating that "the aircraft is safe and that it meets its intended level of design and safety." (The FAA said the plane was safe before the fires too. Everything is safe and fine….Fly on.)
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner said the findings validated the company's confidence in the plane and the process of correcting problems when they arise. (Take a bow Boeing)
But the NTSB found that to get the plane certified, Boeing tested the batteries by driving a nail into the side of one rather than provoking an internal short-circuit through overheating or other abuse.
Investigators found electrical arcing about the Boston battery and excessive current flowing between the battery and charger before it overheated and went out of control in what is called a "thermal runaway." (You don’t need to worry about a Thermal Runaway though….. just remember the Boeing chief has confidence. That should be enough for you)
"However, Boeing underestimated the more serious effects of an internal short-circuit," the NTSB said. (of course they did)
The board said its findings were urgent enough to recommend that the FAA: (Urgent….Smurgent)
• Develop tests to short-circuit one of the eight cells in a battery aboard a plane to see whether a thermal runaway spreads.
• Require Boeing and other manufacturers to conduct the tests on any permanently installed lithium-ion batteries aboard planes. (Testing is for sissy’s)
• Work with experts to develop standards for testing batteries.
• Review the methods that certified batteries on planes and possibly require more testing.
• Create a panel of independent technical experts to advise the FAA on certifying new technology.
The NTSB asked the FAA to respond to the recommendations within 90 days.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/boeing-787-dreamliner-wins-faa-approval-longer-flights-n116691
The approval, known as ETOPS, will allow airlines to fly routes that are up to 330 minutes, or 5-1/2 hours, away from a landing field.
(So when the “Out of Control - thermal runaway” happens over the Pacific Ocean you will only have to keep your fingers crossed for 5 ½ hours before you can land (and get away from that flying death trap. Good luck with that!)
posted by res17 at
May 30, 2014
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