NTSB probes Boeing 787 battery testing and approval

  • Associated Press
  • Tuesday, April 23, 2013 7:02am
  • Business

WASHINGTON — As airlines prepare to resume flying Boeing’s beleaguered 787 Dreamliners, federal investigators looked Tuesday at how regulators and the company tested and approved the plane’s cutting-edge battery system, and whether the government cedes too much safety-testing authority to aircraft makers.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also asking how problems with the aircraft’s lithium-ion battery system that led to a fire aboard one plane and smoke in another escaped the notice of regulators and company officials who certified the plane’s safety.

”We are here to understand why the 787 experienced unexpected battery failures following a design program led by one of the world’s leading manufacturers and a certification process that is well-respected throughout the international aviation community,” NTSB’s Chairman Deborah Hersman said at the opening of a two-day board hearing.

Officials with the FAA, Boeing and Boeing subcontractors responsible for the battery system were scheduled to testify.

”We are looking for lessons learned not just for the design and certification of the failed battery, but also for knowledge that can be applied to emerging technologies going forward,” Hersman said.

To save manpower, the FAA designates employees at aircraft makers to oversee the safety testing of new planes. Every item that is part of an airplane, down to its nuts and bolts, must be certified as safe before the FAA approves that type of plane as safe for flight. Boeing won FAA safety certification for the 787 in August 2011.

”In a way, the designee system is admitting the FAA doesn’t have the manpower to do what is required, and also that they may not have the expertise,” said John Goglia, a former NTSB board member and aviation safety expert.

The FAA has used designated company employees to oversee and validate some safety testing for more than two decades, a practice critics complain has inherent conflicts of interest. The agency significantly expanded its use of designees in recent years under pressure from manufacturers, who complained it was taking the agency too long to approve new planes because they didn’t have enough staff.

”If industry had to wait for government employees to be available to do the testing” and to develop enough technical knowledge to assess new aviation technologies, ”we would just never get any products certified,” Goglia said.

The 787, Boeing’s newest and most technologically-advanced plane, is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries. It has long been known that lithium batteries are more susceptible than conventional nickel-cadmium batteries to extreme, uncontrolled temperature increases and fires that are very different to put out. But lithium batteries weigh less, store more energy and recharge faster than conventional batteries, making them attractive to airlines.

Boeing did some of the safety testing on the 787 battery system, but much of the testing was done by a subcontractor, Thales of France, which made the 787’s electrical system, and by battery maker GS Yuasa of Japan, according to a previously released NTSB report. The testing concluded there was no chance that short-circuiting would lead to a fire, and the odds of a smoking battery were one in every 10 million flight hours.

Instead, there were two battery failures when the entire 787 fleet had clocked less than 52,000 flight hours. The first was on Jan. 7 aboard a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston’s Logan International Airport shortly after landing following an overseas flight. Firefighters reported two small flames and dense clouds of white smoke streaming from the battery. It took over an hour before they declared the incident under control.

Nine days later a smoking battery aboard an All Nippon Airways 787 led to an emergency landing in Japan. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all U.S.-registered 787s grounded the same day, and aviation authorities in other countries swiftly followed suit.

The NTSB, which is investigating the Boston incident, hasn’t yet determined the root cause of the fire and may never be able to do so. The insides of the battery were severely charred, leaving few clues for investigators.

Boeing has since developed and tested a revamped version of the battery system, with changes designed to prevent a fire or to contain one should it occur. FAA officials approved the revamped batteries last week and agreed to lift the grounding order. The company has been working furiously to install the new system on the 50 Dreamliners in service worldwide. Boeing has orders for 840 of the planes from airlines around the globe.

What the NTSB uncovers regarding the FAA’s safety certification program could have important implications for the agency’s ability to handle other technology challenges, including the transition to a new air traffic control system and the introduction of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace, said Jim Hall, a former safety board chairman.

”It’s important to know that the government has oversight capability,” Hall said. ”Our aviation safety, which is unparalleled at the moment in the world, has been built on having active oversight by the FAA.”

The NTSB hearing is being webcast live on the agency’s website.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.