US NTSB takes microscopes to damaged Boeing 787 battery
The US National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday it was carrying out a detailed, microscopic investigation of a battery that caught fire on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner in Boston this month as the probe dragged into a fourth week.
All 50 Boeing Dreamliners remain grounded around the world, as the US, Japanese and French governments continue to investigate that fire and a separate battery-related incident that forced another 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan.
The NTSB said experts at the US Naval Surface Warfare Center laboratories were looking at a second, undamaged lithium-ion battery pulled from the same Japan Airlines plane that caught fire in Boston for signs of in-service damage and manufacturing defects. Both batteries were built by GS Yuasa , a Japanese company.
At the same time, Boeing was giving investigators relevant fleet information about its 787 airliners, which would help investigators understand the operating history of lithium-ion batteries on those airplanes, the NTSB said.
US, Japanese and French safety inspectors - aided by industry officials - have been trying to determine what caused the battery fire on the 787 in Boston and a separate smoke incident that forced the other 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan the following week.
After weeks of investigative work in Japan and various sites in the United States, officials still do not have any answers, raising concerns that Boeing and the airlines that operate the world's newest airliner will face a bigger-than-expected financial hit while it remains grounded.
The NTSB's latest
Be the first to comment.
