Is the Dreamliner becoming a nightmare? All Dreamliners grounded on battery safety concerns

Date added: 17 January, 2013

After initially Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways grounded their Dreamliners on safety grounds, amid concerns that lithium ion batteries on the planes are unsafe and in danger of thermal runaway  The FAA followed yesterday, meaning the Dreamliners of United Airlines were grounded. Then the authorities in China and India also grounded their Dreamliners, as have the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Now all are grounded.  The risk of fire from the lithium batteries needs to be resolved. They Dreamliner has been billed as the future of air travel, offering passengers bigger windows, more space, and the ability to travel longer distances in one trip. Suggestions by Boeing that these are easy-to-fix faults clearly raises the question why were they not discovered and fixed before the plane went into commercial service in October 2011. There is growing concern of the impact of the grounding on Boeing’s order book, which currently contains some 800 Dreamliners scheduled for production and delivery over the next decade. And costly compensation claims. Grounding aircraft on this scale over safety concerns is rare. The last time the FAA ordered a general grounding of an aircraft model was in 1979.

 
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17 January 2013 (BBC)

Dreamliner: Boeing 787 planes grounded on safety fears

There are 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners at airlines around the world

All of Boeing’s 50 flagship 787 Dreamliners have been temporarily taken out of service amid safety concerns.

The US and European aviation agencies said planes should be grounded while safety checks are carried out on their lithium ion batteries.

They are worried that the batteries could leak, corroding vital equipment and potentially causing fires.

Boeing said it stood by the integrity of the Dreamliner, which has been in service since October 2011.

Grounding aircraft on this scale over safety concerns is rare. The last time the FAA ordered a general grounding of an aircraft model was in 1979, when McDonnell Douglas DC-10s were grounded following a fatal crash.

• Air India: 6
• All Nippon Airways (Japan): 17
• Ethiopian Airlines: 4
• Japan Airlines: 7
• LAN Airlines (Chile): 3
• Lot Polish Airlines: 2
• Qatar Airways: 5
• United Airlines (US): 6
• Total: 50

Source: Boeing

A string of issues in recent weeks have raised questions about the 787.

Dreamliners have suffered incidents including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire. However, it is the battery problems that have caused the most concern.

On Wednesday, an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight made an emergency landing because of a battery fault and fire smoke in one of the electrical compartments.

ANA said the battery in the forward cargo hold was the same type as the one involved in a fire on a Japan Airlines Dreamliner at a US airport last week.

Safety inspectors are looking at a battery taken from an ANA Dreamliner earlier this week

Airlines complying

Later on Wednesday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that airlines must demonstrate battery safety before flights can resume.

The authority added that it had alerted the international aviation community of its airworthiness directive, so that other authorities could take parallel action to cover the fleets operating in their countries.

The European Aviation Safety Agency endorsed the directive early on Thursday.

All eight airlines currently flying Boeing 787s have grounded the planes:

• All Nippon Airways and Japan Airways have grounded their combined fleet of 24 787s
• United Airlines, the only US airline currently operating Dreamliners, said it would immediately comply with the FAA’s directive and would begin re-accommodating customers on alternative aircraft
• Chile’s LAN announced it would suspend its three Dreamliners from service in co-ordination with the Chilean Aeronautical Authority
• Indian aviation regulators ordered Air India to stop operating its 787s
• Poland’s Lot Airlines, the only European airline currently flying 787s, was due to launch its 787 transatlantic service this week, but cancelled a return flight from Chicago to Warsaw on Wednesday
• Qatar Airways, which currently operates five Dreamliners, said it had grounded the planes and was “actively working with Boeing and the regulators to restore full customer confidence in the 787”
• Ethiopian Airlines said it was taking its 787s out of service as a precautionary measure

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Rupert Wingfield-HayesBBC News, Tokyo

Here in Japan, the 787 investigation is now focused on the plane’s electrical system and, in particular, its lithium ion battery pack.

Japanese investigators have begun removing the battery pack from the All Nippon Airways plane that was forced to make an emergency landing on Wednesday.

They say it is deformed and discoloured, and that a large amount of liquid electrolyte had leaked from the battery on the interior of the plane’s fuselage.

The electrolyte used in lithium ion batteries is known to be flammable.

The US FAA is sending a team to Japan to join the investigation.

In a statement, it said such a leak “could lead to damage to critical systems and structures, and there is the potential for fire in the electrical compartment”.

The company that makes the battery pack is GS Yuasa, Japan’s biggest battery manufacturer.

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‘Every necessary step’

Leithen Francis, from Aviation Week, said airlines had little choice but to take the aircraft out of service temporarily.

“When the FAA issues an airworthiness directive, civil aviation and airlines around the world have to follow [it], particularly in regards to the 787, because it is a US-designed and developed aircraft,” he told the BBC.

Boeing said it supported the FAA but added it was confident the 787 was safe.

Chief executive Jim McNerney said: “We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the travelling public of the 787’s safety and to return the airplanes to service.

“Boeing deeply regrets the impact that recent events have had on the operating schedules of our customers and the inconvenience to them and their passengers.”

Mr Francis said the safety concerns could have an effect on airlines currently considering ordering 787s, causing them to choose rival Airbus’ A330 instead, which is a comparable aircraft and a proven product.

Companies on the order books include UK holiday firm Thomson, which was due to take delivery of Dreamliners next month, followed by British Airways and Virgin.

Thomson said Boeing had reassured the airline that it was doing everything possible to get the planes back into service.

“We will await the outcome of the FAA investigation into the 787 Dreamliner. At this time we are still working to our original delivery dates,” it said in a statement.

The FAA said it would work with the manufacturer and carriers on an action plan to allow the US 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.

“The in-flight Japanese battery incident followed an earlier 787 battery incident that occurred on the ground in Boston on January 7, 2013,” the regulator said.

“The AD (airworthiness directive) is prompted by this second incident involving a lithium ion battery.”

It said the battery failures resulted in the release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke, and the cause of the failures was under investigation.

“These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment,” the FAA said.

Boeing is investing heavily in the 787 Dreamliner, and needs to sell 1,100 over the next decade to break even. Together with European rival Airbus it dominates the global airliner market.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21054089

Related BBC Stories

• A brief history of airliner problems
• What are the battery problems?
• 787: History and orders

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17 January 2013 (BBC)

Dreamliner: Most Boeing 787 planes grounded on safety fears

Qatar Airways joined airlines in Chile and India in temporarily halting 787 flights, following a directive to ground planes from US authorities.

European regulators have also called for the planes to be grounded.

Boeing said the planes were safe and that it stood by the integrity of the Dreamliner, which came into service in October last year.

A string of issues in recent weeks have raised questions about the 787.

Dreamliners have suffered incidents including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire. However, it is the battery problems that have caused the most concern.

On Wednesday, an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight made an emergency landing because of a battery malfunction. That caused it to ground all 17 of its Dreamliners and Japan Airways followed suit.

Airlines complying

Issuing its directive, the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said that airlines must demonstrate battery safety before flights can resume.

The FAA added that it had alerted the international aviation community of its airworthiness directive, so that other authorities could take parallel action to cover the fleets operating in their countries.

The European Aviation Safety Agency endorsed the directive early on Thursday.

So far, all but one of the airlines currently flying Boeing 787s have grounded the planes.

• All Nippon Airways and Japan Airways have grounded their combined fleet of 21 787s
• United Airlines, the only US airline currently operating Dreamliners, said it would immediately comply with the FAA’s directive and would begin re-accommodating customers on alternative aircraft
• Chile’s LAN announced it would suspend its three Dreamliners from service in co-ordination with the Chilean Aeronautical Authority
• Indian aviation regulators also complied by ordering Air India to stop operating its 787s
• Poland’s Lot Airlines, the only European airline currently flying 787s, was due to launch its 787 transatlantic service this week, but cancelled a return flight from Chicago to Warsaw on Wednesday
• Qatar Airways, which currently operates five Dreamliners, said it had grounded the planes and was “actively working with Boeing and the regulators to restore full customer confidence in the 787”.

Executives at the remaining 787 operator, Ethiopian Airlines, were in a meeting about the FAA directive on Thursday morning, but have yet to announce the grounding of planes.

‘Every necessary step’

Leithen Francis, from Aviation Week, said airlines had little choice but to take the aircraft out of service temporarily.

“When the FAA issues an airworthiness directive, civil aviation and airlines around the world have to follow [it], particularly in regards to the 787, because it is a US-designed and developed aircraft,” he told the BBC.

Boeing said it supported the FAA but added it was confident the 787 was safe.

Chief executive Jim McNerney said: “We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the travelling public of the 787’s safety and to return the airplanes to service.

“Boeing deeply regrets the impact that recent events have had on the operating schedules of our customers and the inconvenience to them and their passengers.”

Boeing shares closed down more than 3% on Wall Street on Wednesday.

Mr Francis said this could have an effect on airlines currently considering ordering 787s, causing them to choose rival Airbus’ A330 instead, which is a comparable aircraft and a proven product.

Companies on the order books include UK holiday firm Thompson, which was due to take delivery of Dreamliners next month.

The FAA said it would work with the manufacturer and carriers on an action plan to allow the US 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.

“The in-flight Japanese battery incident followed an earlier 787 battery incident that occurred on the ground in Boston on January 7, 2013,” the regulator said.

“The AD (airworthiness directive) is prompted by this second incident involving a lithium ion battery.”

It said the battery failures resulted in the release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke, and the cause of the failures was under investigation.

“These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment,” the FAA said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21054089

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Regulators around the world are investigating. Boeing says it is co-operating with the authorities.

Qatar Airways’ Akbar Al Baker says Boeing must pay compensation

Beyond that there is little to be said about that until conclusions are reached.

In the meantime, Boeing’s airline customers are left hanging, counting the cost of keeping planes grounded as a result of safety concerns, or to facilitate investigations or time-consuming repairs.

Dreamliner’s problems

• 15 January ANA flight NH 692 from Yamaguchi Ube was forced to land shortly after take-off due to battery problems. The airline grounded all its 17 Dreamliners. Japan Airlines followed suit, grounding its fleet of seven 787s

• 11 January ANA reported a crack in the window on the pilot’s side of the cockpit. It caused no problems for the 237 passengers and nine crew on a flight from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Matsuyama, but the return flight was cancelled. The same airline said another Dreamliner flight, shuttling between Haneda and the southern Miyazaki prefecture, experienced a delay due to an oil leak from a generator inside an engine

• 9 January ANA cancelled a 787 flight from Yamaguchi to Tokyo because of a brake problem

• 8 January Japan Airlines cancelled a Boston to Tokyo flight after about 40 gallons (151 litres) of fuel spilled

• 7 January An electrical fire broke out on board a Japan Airlines Dreamliner shortly after it landed in Boston, following a flight from Tokyo

• 13 December Qatar Airways grounded one of its 787s after several manufacturing faults caused electrical problems

• 4 December A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans because of an electrical problem.

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The Japan authorities were the first to ground 787s owned by its airlines. Most of the other relevant authorities have followed suit meaning most of the existing global fleet of the plane is out of service for the time being.

The airlines are also acutely aware of the damage such incidences can cause their reputation, as made clear by ANA’s vice-president Osamu Shinobe and executive Hiroyuki Ito’s actions as they bowed in shame to apologise to passengers and their family members for causing them concern.

Indeed, in an effort apparently designed to calm concerns, one of Boeing’s airline customers – Bjorn Kjos, chief executive of Norwegian Air Shuttle – has come out in defence of the plane, echoing the view that “minor problems” such as these should be expected.

Norwegian has yet to take delivery of the Dreamliner, though the aircraft is vital to its ambitious plan to expand by offering long-haul flights. Japan’s two main airlines ANA and JAL also have long-haul plans for their fleet of Dreamliners, which were destined to operate on European and American routes.

Qatar’s Mr Baker has long questioned whether the recurring faults are merely “teething problems” and has voiced concerns about how the Dreamliner’s delays, and now its faults, have made it difficult for successful airlines to plan ahead and to expand as quickly as they would like to.

Mr Baker has already said he would expect Boeing to pay compensation for its failure to deliver usable planes.

“They will have to if they deliver aeroplanes that can’t fly,” he said in the recent interview. “We are not buying aircraft to put in museums, we’re buying them to fly.”

It seems inevitable that there are armies of lawyers out there getting ready for similar discussions with Boeing on behalf other airlines customers.

But damage claims from airlines may not be the aerospace giant’s biggest headache right now.

Worst-case scenario

Posted: Thursday, January 17th, 2013. Filed in General News, Recent News.