Is the 787 a failure ?

|
| Boeing Co. (BA)'s effort to get its troubled 787 Dreamliner
| back in the air is headed for a challenging final hurdle:
| It needs approval from the U.S. agency that's already been
| burned by signing off on the plane's safety.
| ...
| The FAA isn't discussing its plans for deciding whether the
| battery fix is satisfactory beyond saying that it won't
| sign off on the Dreamliner's return to commercial flight
| until the new battery system is deemed safe, according to
| Laura Brown, a spokeswoman. She declined to comment on
| whether the FAA is under any political pressure.
|
| The FAA's role in approving the cells for the Dreamliner in
| 2007 will be the focus of a two-day NTSB hearing starting
| April 23. The batteries were certified under "special
| conditions," which are rules the FAA creates for new
| technology.
|
| Another NTSB hearing starts today on the use of lithium-ion
| batteries in transportation, and next week, the Dreamliner
| probably will come up when the Senate Commerce, Science and
| Transportation Committee holds a hearing to discuss the
| FAA's progress on safety initiatives.
| ...
| [Transportation Secretary] LaHood, 67, a former seven-term
| Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from
| Illinois, has played a prominent role since the
| Dreamliner's batteries came under scrutiny with a Jan. 7
| fire on a Japan Airlines 787.
|
| At a Jan. 11 news conference, he and FAA chief Michael
| Huerta declared the plane safe. Less than a week afterward,
| an ANA 787's battery began smoldering and spewing vapor
| above Japan, prompting an emergency landing and then the
| grounding.
|
| LaHood's involvement in the 787 decision escalates pressure
| on the FAA, said John Nance, a Seattle-based
| aviation-safety consultant and former commercial pilot.
| ...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-10/boeing-faces-last-hurdle-for-dreamliner-with-no-rush-faa.html

--bks

Discussing an NTSB meeting to be held on 23,24 April:
|
| National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Deborah
| Hersman said Friday an upcoming hearing should reveal "a
| lot more about the certification and design process" that
| Boeing and aviation regulators used for the 787 Dreamliner
| battery system before it went into service.
|
| After that, she said in an interview, "If we believe there
| are changes that need to be made, we will pursue that."
|
| Hersman said the NTSB will review Boeing's design and risk
| analysis and the Federal Aviation Administration's
| certification process in its final investigation report,
| which should be issued by the end of the year.
| ...
| She declined to comment specifically on Boeing's proposed
| battery fix. The NTSB is charged with assessing safety and
| making recommendations, but the FAA sets the rules of
| aviation, and it's the agency that grounded the Boeing jets.
|
| "Boeing has to identify and properly mitigate the risks to
| the FAA's satisfaction," Hersman said. Lifting the
| grounding "really is up to the FAA."
| ...
| Hersman acknowledged that it's a challenge to identify the
| root cause of the internal short known to have started the
| Boston battery fire because the battery was severely
| damaged.
|
| In searching for that cause, her experts are conducting
| weeks-long tests on other batteries produced by Boeing's
| supplier, GS Yuasa of Japan.
|
| "We have to let the investigation play out," Hersman said.
|
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020769388_ntsbhersmanxml.html

--bks

On Apr 13, 9:30*am, (Bradley K. Sherman) wrote:
Discussing an NTSB meeting to be held on 23,24 April:
*|
*| National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Deborah
*| Hersman said Friday an upcoming hearing should reveal "a
*| lot more about the certification and design process" that
*| Boeing and aviation regulators used for the 787 Dreamliner
*| battery system before it went into service.
*|
*| After that, she said in an interview, "If we believe there
*| are changes that need to be made, we will pursue that."
*|
*| Hersman said the NTSB will review Boeing's design and risk
*| analysis and the Federal Aviation Administration's
*| certification process in its final investigation report,
*| which should be issued by the end of the year.
*| ...
*| She declined to comment specifically on Boeing's proposed
*| battery fix. The NTSB is charged with assessing safety and
*| making recommendations, but the FAA sets the rules of
*| aviation, and it's the agency that grounded the Boeing jets.
*|
*| "Boeing has to identify and properly mitigate the risks to
*| the FAA's satisfaction," Hersman said. Lifting the
*| grounding "really is up to the FAA."
*| ...
*| Hersman acknowledged that it's a challenge to identify the
*| root cause of the internal short known to have started the
*| Boston battery fire because the battery was severely
*| damaged.
*|
*| In searching for that cause, her experts are conducting
*| weeks-long tests on other batteries produced by Boeing's
*| supplier, GS Yuasa of Japan.
*|
*| "We have to let the investigation play out," Hersman said.
*|
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020769388_ntsbhersma...

* * --bks

Thank you for keeping us updated. I am sure the Japanese will want to
know what's going on too as they are big customers for the plane as
well as parts suppliers. Also, the idea of future battery use in
aircraft applications is a big one for industry folks to watch.

I wonder how hard it is just to put a new type of battery in there?

-- David

Maybe the secret really is NiMH.

(Thank you, thank you, try the chicken Parma, please tip your
waiter....)

|
| (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) has finished testing its
| redesigned 787 Dreamliner battery system, the Federal
| Aviation Administration said Tuesday, but the agency gave
| no timetable for when it would lift a ban on flights by the
| new jet.
|
| FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said the agency is
| reviewing the tests and analysis and "will approve the
| redesign once we are satisfied Boeing has shown the
| redesigned battery system meets FAA requirements."
| ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-aviation-hearing-idUSBRE93F13T20130416

--bks

|
| Boeing's revolutionary 787 airliner moved significantly
| closer to returning to service on Friday when the Federal
| Aviation Administration approved design modifications for a
| malfunctioning battery system that caused a worldwide
| grounding of the new planes.
|
| "These changes to the 787 battery will ensure the safety of
| the aircraft and its passengers," said Transportation
| Secretary Ray LaHood.
| ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/boeing-787-may-fly-again-soon/2013/04/19/c82218cc-a920-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html

No word on what actually happened to cause the problem.

--bks

|
| Boeing Co.'s BA +1.29% 787 Dreamliner returned to revenue
| service, as an Ethiopian Airlines commercial flight
| Saturday became the first to use the plane since its
| world-wide grounding more than three months ago.
|
| The flight, operating as Ethiopian Airlines Flight 801,
| departed the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa just before
| 11 a.m. local time and arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, at 12:38
| p.m. local time, according to flight records on the
| airline's website.
| ...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323789704578448751119295708.html

--bks