The fire and smoke from the event were so intense that firefighters couldn’t see even a few inches in front of themselves when they entered the electronics bay containing the burning battery, the report said. A fire captain on the scene told investigators that the battery was “hissing loudly and liquid was flowing down the sides of the battery case” before it “exploded.”

Those words taken from the interim report of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into the January 7 JAL 787 fire released March 7, may have killed off Boeing’s chances to have the 787 in the air soon.

The report includes:

• details on how the maintenance personal discovered the fire 
• how the firefighters responded and extinguished the fire that smouldered for 99 minutes
•  findings from the examination of the battery and test results of related components
• initial reports on the flight recorder data
• a description of the 787 electrical power system certification plan
• a list of ongoing and planned investigative activities

But the report does not provide any cause of the fire as the Board cannot yet identify it. A fire that Boeing said in 2008, during its 787 certification process  was impossible. So impossible that a fire suppression system for the 787′s two heavy duty lithium-ion batteries, one under the cockpit and the other under the rear cabin, was deemed by the manufacturer to be unnecessary. The Report seems to suggest that this is a mistake on the part of Boeing. One serious mistake.  

The power conversion technology system that aimed to power the consumer systems onboard the 787 was designed by French company Thales. They chose Japanese company GS Yuasa’s Li-ion batteries. The Battery charging Unit was built by  US company Securaplane. Each of these companies focussed on potential failures for their parts of the system and assessed what failures could possibly happen and the impact of each failure. According to The Seattle Times “The NTSB report seems to question the thoroughness of the testing done by Thales and Securaplane.”“None of the Thales documents described a complete life-cycle of tests,” the report states. “No records have been seen that documented the performance of the individual Li-ion battery cells in testing that involved a battery/BCU set or in a complete Model 787 airplane.

Boeing then  reviewed these supplier assessments and took an integrated view for their overall safety assessment of the lithium-ion battery and potential failure.

While the battery fire on the two 787s which experienced it caused no loss of life and no damage to the aeroplanes, the potential for a mid air disaster were worse. Even more terrifying, on the rack above the battery that burned is a smaller lithium-ion battery, that is designed to provide the emergency power for the jet’s flight controls “when no other electrical power is available.” The NTSB Investigators found the this battery’s exterior was“lightly scorched” in the fire and its case had started opening at the corners.

 The NTSB will take the logical next step and hold a Forum in Washington DC in mid-April to explore lithium-ion battery technology and transportation safety. The Forum will be open to the public and broadcast live over the web. 

Following the Forum, will be an investigative hearing to focus on the design and certification of the 787 battery system. That investigative hearing may be very telling.

The NTSB has a webpage dedicated to the 787 investigations. One criticism of the through information provided is that I wish the Board used metric measurements as well as the US system.

In the meantime for seven airlines, their 787 schedules are kaput. Thompson airlines have announced that their May and June Dreamliner flights will not be taking place. If there is a breakthrough after the April Forum and Hearing, the modifications may take three to six months.

Related Posts

February 16: 787 situation gets more serious

February 9th: 787 Update- one flies, would you fly it?

February 2: 787 still grounded

January 25: The 787 Battery Fire: Step by stepJanuary 18: All 787s grounded- airline by airline

January 12: 787 Safety “Concerns”

Thomson 787

Norwegian Air Shuttle  began selling tickets for their New York JFK and Bangkok Boeing 787 services on Thursday November 8 for flights from May 30th, 2013. Some very cheap seats were available -and they were selling fast.

The carrier will fly between Oslo (Norway) and Stockholm (Sweden) three times a week. Seats on Norwegian’s 787 will be nine across 3-3-3 in economy class with a 31″ pitch. The airline is also introducing a Premium Cabin on the 787,  configured six across 2-2-2 with a 46″ pitch. Up to now, the airline has been all one class. All seats will have an individual entertainment system. Meals are included in the Premium fare and with the Flex fare. The meals can be pre ordered  for an extra fee by passengers travelling on the airline’s lowest fare.

Headquartered in Bergen, Norway, Norwegian is the second largest airline in Scandinavia and serves more than 115 airports in 30 countries. The airline started as a small regional carrier in 1993. In 2002, it adopted its current name and began its expansion with destinations and passengers numbers rapidly climbing.  The airline transported 15.7 million people in 2011 compared with 5.1million just five years before.

The carrier currently operates 68 Boeing 737s. Their livery is white  with a distinctive red nose. Each plane has a famous Scandinavian on the tail including author Karen Blixen, explorer Helge Ingstad and artist Edvard Munch. Currently, 47 of their aircraft are WiFi equipped. By March 2013, their entire 737-800 fleet will have in-flight WiFi.  Norwegian makes available its wifi free of charge for all passengers.

The airline has eight Boeing 787s on order.  It is purchasing three and leasing five. The delivery of their first one will be in April 2013  followed by the second  June 2013 and the third one in November 2013. Four more will be delivered in 2014 and  the final one in 2015. The new 787s are part of a massive fleet expansion at Norwegian. Norwegian Air Shuttle have orders and options for a further 222 new planes including:

•  100 Boeing 737 MAX-8
• 22 Boeing 737-800
•  100 Airbus A320 neo

These orders represent the largest order in European aviation history.

To operate the 787 services, they have formed a subsidiary: Norwegian Long Haul. I note that Rishworth Aviation have started advertising on behalf of Norwegian, for  Thailand based 787 Captains and First Officers. I assume that Norwegian are aiming to hire Thai nationality pilots to reduce their wage costs.

I have not yet flown Norwegian -nor the 787! Maybe I can try both in 2013 – If I can get a seat!

Related Posts

787 September 2012 Update