Boeing Dreamliner battery fire hot enough to melt fuselage, tests show

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/01/15/179964/boeing-dreamliner-battery-fire.html



Boeing Dreamliner battery fire hot enough to melt fuselage, tests show
By Curtis Tate | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Tuesday, January 15, 2013

WASHINGTON — A fire that broke out last week in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner could have been hot enough to melt the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic that makes up the plane’s shell, according to the results of tests the Federal Aviation Administration performed last year.

Early Wednesday, Japan's All Nippon Airways grounded all 17 of its Dreamliners after a flight made an emergency landing at the Takamatsu airport in western Japan. Smoke was reported in the cockpit, and the plane's 137 passengers were evacuated.

The incident magnifies concerns about the plane's safety. A fire last week in a lithium battery housed near the tail section of a Japan Airlines plane at Boston’s Logan International Airport prompted an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and a review by the FAA.

FAA spokeswoman Brie Sachse said the Japan event "will be included in the comprehensive review the FAA began last week of the 787 critical systems, including design, manufacture and assembly."

[longship]

1. Great article. Thanks. nt