Boeing Halts Deliveries of 787 Dreamliners after Global Grounding

The Boeing Company halted all deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft a day after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the airplane and other countries followed suit. There are roughly 50 Dreamliners operating around the world, including six in the U.S. operated by United Airlines. Boeing is continuing to manufacture the aircraft.  With 787 Dreamliners grounded around the world, Boeing is scrambling to devise a technical fix of the defective lithium ion battery that would allow the planes to fly again soon, even as investigators in the United States and Japan are trying to figure out what caused the batteries to overheat.

DOT Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on Friday that a rapid outcome was unlikely and that 787s would not be allowed to fly until the authorities were "1,000 percent sure" they were safe. "Those planes aren't flying now until we have a chance to examine the batteries," LaHood said. "That seems to be where the problem is."

The FAA on Wednesday took almost unprecedented step of grounding all U.S. operated Dreamliners after a plane in Japan made an emergency landing when one of its two lithium-ion batteries set off a smoke alarm in the cockpit. Last week at Boston's Logan Airport, a battery ignited in a parked 787 owned by All Nippon Airways (ANA).  The last time the government grounded an entire fleet of airplanes was in 1979, after the crash of a McDonnell Douglas DC-10.

The 787 grounding comes as the U.S. is going through a record period of safe commercial jet flying: It has been nearly four years since a fatal airline crash, with nearly three billion passengers flying in that period. The last airliner crash, near Buffalo, N.Y., came after a quiet period of two and a half years.

Investigators in Japan said Friday that a possible explanation for the problems with the 787's batteries was that they were overcharged — a hazard that has long been a concern for lithium-ion batteries.  Given the uncertainty, it will be hard for federal regulators to approve any corrective measures proposed by Boeing. To lift the grounding order, Boeing must demonstrate that any fix it puts in place would prevent similar episodes from happening.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/boeing-halts-deliveries-of-787-dreamliners-after-global-grounding.html