In neither case could authorities determine a cause for the fire. In 2006, Meggitt ( MGGT) subsidiary Securaplane Technologies - which incidentally builds the charger for Boeing's battery - suffered millions in damages when a lithium-ion battery exploded during testing and burned an Arizona facility to the ground.įurther, in both 20, 747 cargo planes carrying pallets of lithium-ion batteries crashed because of a fire, killing the crew. These batteries are unpredictable and prone to thermal runaway and fires."īoeing's 787 Dreamliner isn't alone when it comes to problems with its lithium-ion battery. More pointedly, Michel Armand, a professor of chemistry at the University of Picardie and a research director at the French government's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, told Barron's: "Using these batteries in planes makes no sense, with all the lives potentially at stake. Even with the modifications, the individual cells of the battery are crammed too closely together and feature an internal chemistry that's far too volatile." Elton Cairns, a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory professor and battery technology expert, said: "I'm shocked that Boeing was willing to stake its reputation on these batteries. Consequently, the group challenged Boeing to conduct flight tests without the lithium-ion battery to prove its safety.īoeing's vice president and the chief project engineer for the 787, Mike Sinnett, addressed these issues by saying the Dreamliner has backup systems that allow it to continue flying if the batteries fail, and that the warning indicators were ranked by severity, but these assurances have done little to quell the pilots' concerns.īattery experts and scientists have also publicly questioned the safety of Boeing's battery. More recently, the pilots' group expressed concern that Boeing didn't figure out what caused the problems with the batteries in the first place and is now downplaying the battery's necessity for flight. They also expressed concern that the warning indicator for a battery malfunction didn't indicate the severity of the problem. One of their major concerns was that they didn't think Boeing had provided enough proof that the 787 would be safe to fly if the batteries failed. In March, Japanese pilots raised 30 safety concerns about the Dreamliner. Officials at All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines said they're satisfied with Boeing's changes and have resumed flights, but investors may have cause for concern knowing that that the pilots - the people whose lives depend on the safety of Boeing's battery - aren't satisfied. Some scientists and battery experts are also expressing concern about the safety of Boeing's battery. The director of the Airline Pilots' Association of Japan, Toshikazu Nagasawa, said that pilots weren't satisfied with the changes Boeing made to it's lithium-ion battery and are concerned that they won't receive appropriate in-flight warnings if there's an issue. Boeing's ( BA 1.15%) 787 Dreamliner just returned to the skies after a four-month grounding, but already there's trouble.
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