Jumping from "minor tweak" to "OMFG!":
|
| Boeing will propose to regulators as early as this week a
| short-term fix to bolster the 787's defenses in case of
| battery fires like those that have kept the jet grounded
| for the past month.
| ...
| The interim fix includes a heavy-duty titanium or steel
| containment box around the battery cells, and high-pressure
| evacuation tubes that, in the event of a battery fire,
| would vent any gases directly to the outside of the jet.
|
| Boeing's approach implicitly acknowledges that four weeks
| after two batteries overheated -- one catching fire on the
| ground, the other smoldering in flight -- investigators
| have still not pinpointed the cause.
| ...
| However, it's unclear if the FAA is ready yet to accept
| containment of an overheated battery cell rather than
| prevention.
| ...
| Brian Barnett, a battery specialist with Mass.-based
| technology development company VIAX who has closely studied
| lithium ion battery failures, said that in his lab's
| experience, about half the time "you cannot reach solid
| conclusions" about the root cause.
| ...
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020373450_boeing787xml.html?prmid=4939

--bks