Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners Are Again Flying The Friendly Skies

Categories: Industry News | News

Boeing Co.’s chief engineer for the 787 Dreamliner said Saturday that changes to the lithium-ion battery system are fully sufficient to ensure the aircraft’s safety, although the company has been unable to find the cause of the original battery failures earlier this year that led to groundings of the plane worldwide since mid-January.

Michael Sinnett gave a briefing on the revamped battery to reporters in Tokyo after Japanese and U.S. regulators gave carriers permission to resume 787 flights once battery modifications are made.

The new battery system is designed to prevent a fire, and to contain one should it occur with an “enclosure,” a casing around the battery to prevent heat from being released in the aircraft, Sinnett told a news conference in Tokyo.

“Even if we never know root cause, the enclosure keeps the airplane safe, it eliminates the possibility of fire, it keeps heat out of the airplane, it keeps smoke out of the airplane, and it ensures that no matter what happens to the battery, regardless of root cause, the airplane is safe,” he said, adding “in some ways it almost doesn’t matter what the root cause was.”

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