The Boeing 787’s lithium-ion battery designs might not have fully accounted for the hazards of internal short circuiting, largely because of inadequate processes used to support certification of the battery, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says.
To correct these NTSB-identified shortcomings, the board issued a series of recommendations in late May to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including a call for the development of a test capable of demonstrating safety performance in case of an internal short circuit in a lithium-ion battery.
The recommendations were developed as a result of the NTSB’s ongoing investigation of a Jan. 7, 2013, fire in a lithium-ion battery in a Japan Airlines 787 that was parked at a gate at Logan International Airport in Boston after a flight from Narita, Japan. All passengers and crewmembers had deplaned, and the fire was discovered when cleaning personnel saw smoke in the aft cabin. About the same time, a maintenance …
