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2013 Boeing 787 Dreamliner grounding

Battery problems article of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Battery problems article of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner

On January 16, 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency airworthiness directive ordering all U.S.-based airlines to ground their Boeing 787s until yet-to-be-determined modifications were made to the electrical system to reduce the risk of the battery overheating or catching fire. This was the first time that the FAA had grounded an airliner type since 1979. The FAA also announced plans to conduct an extensive review of the 787's critical systems. The review's focus was on the safety of the lithium-ion batteries when LiCoO2 batteries were the only type of lithium aerospace battery available. Still, since then, newer and safer types (such as LiFePO4) and LiMn2O4 (lithium manganate), which provide less reaction energy during thermal runaway, have become available. The FAA approved a 787 battery in 2007 with nine "special conditions". A battery approved by the FAA (through Mobile Power Solutions) was made by Rose Electronics using Kokam cells, but the batteries installed in the 787 were made by Yuasa.

On January 20, the NTSB declared that overvoltage was not the cause of the Boston incident, as voltage did not exceed the battery limit of 32 V, and the charging unit passed tests. The battery had signs of short-circuiting and thermal runaway. Despite this, on January 24, the NTSB announced that it had not yet pinpointed the cause of the Boston fire; the FAA would not allow U.S.-based Dreamliners to fly again until the problem was found and corrected. In a press briefing that day, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said that the NTSB had found evidence of the failure of multiple safety systems designed to prevent these battery problems and stated that fire must never happen on an aircraft. The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) has said on January 23 that the battery in ANA jets in Japan reached a maximum voltage of 31 V (i.e. they were operating within the 32 V limit as the Boston JAL 787 had been), but had a sudden unexplained voltage drop to near zero. ANA and JAL had already replaced several 787 batteries before the fires occurred. As of January 29, 2013, JTSB approved the Yuasa factory quality control while the American NTSB continues to look for defects in the Boston battery.

Industry experts disagreed on the consequences of the grounding: Boeing's competitor Airbus was confident that Boeing would resolve the issue and that no airlines would switch to a different type of aircraft, while other experts saw the problem as "costly" and said it "could take upwards of a year" to resolve.

Only two U.S.-based airlines operated the Dreamliner at the time – United Airlines and American Airlines. Chile's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) grounded LAN Airlines' three 787s. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed Air India to ground its six Dreamliners. The Japanese Transport Ministry made the ANA and JAL groundings official and indefinite following the FAA announcement. The European Aviation Safety Agency also followed the FAA's advice and grounded the only two European 787s, operated by LOT Polish Airlines. Qatar Airways announced it was grounding its five Dreamliners. Ethiopian Air was the final operator to announce temporary groundings, of its four Dreamliners.

As of January 17, 2013, all 50 of the aircraft were grounded. On January 18, Boeing announced that it was halting 787 deliveries until the battery problem was resolved. On February 4, 2013, the FAA permitted Boeing to conduct test flights of 787 aircraft to gather additional data.

Solution

NTSB investigative hearing in April 2013

The Federal Aviation Administration decided on April 19, 2013, to allow U.S. Dreamliners to return to service after changes were made to better contain fires within their battery systems. Japanese authorities announced they were doing the same for their airplanes.

In 2013, concern remained that the solutions put in place by Boeing will not be able to cover the full range of possible failure modes. These include problems that may arise from poor systems integration between the engine indicating and crew alerting system (EICAS) and the battery management system.

A report adopted November 21, 2014, by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that "the probable cause of this incident was an internal short circuit within a cell [cell 5 or cell 6] of the auxiliary power unit (APU) lithium-ion battery, which led to a thermal runaway that cascaded to adjacent cells, resulting in the release of smoke and fire. The incident resulted from Boeing's failure to incorporate design requirements to mitigate the most severe effects of an internal short circuit within an APU battery cell and the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to identify this design deficiency during the type design certification process." The report also made recommendations to the FAA, Boeing, and the battery manufacturer.

The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau was reported to have called for Boeing to redesign the battery "beyond the recommendations from two previous investigations about the 2013 battery incidents by the Japan Transportation Safety Board (JTSB) and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)." The enclosure Boeing had to add was 185 lb heavier, negating the weight savings of using a lighter-weight battery.

References

References

  1. (January 17, 2013). "Dreamliner: Boeing 787 planes grounded on safety fears". BBC News.
  2. "Accident: ANA B788 near Takamatsu on Jan 16th 2013, battery problem and burning smell on board". [[The Aviation Herald]].
  3. (December 1, 2014). "Report on Boeing 787 Dreamliner Batteries Assigns Some Blame for Flaws". [[The New York Times]].
  4. (January 8, 2013). "Fire aboard empty 787 Dreamliner prompts investigation". CNN.
  5. (January 8, 2013). "Second faulty Boeing Dreamliner in Boston". BBC.
  6. (January 9, 2013). "U.S. Opens Dreamliner Safety Probe". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
  7. Topham, Gwyn. (January 11, 2013). "Boeing 787 Dreamliner to be investigated by US authorities". The Guardian.
  8. Mukai, Anna. (January 15, 2013). "Japan to Investigate Boeing 787 Fuel Leak as FAA Reviews". Bloomberg.
  9. (January 16, 2013). "全日空Ｂ７８７型機から煙 乗客避難・高松空港". NHK.
  10. (January 16, 2013). "Top Japan airlines ground Boeing 787s after emergency". BBC.
  11. (January 16, 2013). "A Boeing 787 plane makes an emergency landing in Japan". BBC.
  12. Iain Thomson. (25 January 2013). "Boeing 787 fleet grounded indefinitely as investigators stumped". The Register.
  13. (2013-01-23). "Boeing 787's battery woes put US approval under scrutiny". [[Business Standard]].
  14. Ostrower, Jon. (2013-02-11). "Microscopic 'Dendrites' a Focus in Boeing Dreamliner Probe". The Wall Street Journal.
  15. Jansen, Bart. "FAA, Boeing tell Congress that Dreamliner is safe".
  16. Ziegler, Chris. (2013-07-18). "UK investigators blame a new kind of battery for Ethiopian Airlines 787 fire". The Verge.
  17. (2014-01-14). "Japan Airlines: Smoke seen coming from Boeing 787 Dreamliner battery". CBS News.
  18. (January 14, 2014). "Boeing 787 aircraft grounded after battery problem in Japan". BBC News.
  19. (January 15, 2013). "No damage to JAL 787 in battery incident". Flight International.
  20. [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/16/us_safety_authorities_on_boeings_case_787_batteries_fail/ Boeing bent over for new probe as 787 batteries vent fluid, start to MELT] Iain Thomson. [[The Register]] 16 Jan 2014 at 02:29
  21. "Japan Airlines Boeing 787 grounded after battery leaks and lets off smoke". The Guardian.
  22. Christine Negroni [https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinenegroni/2017/12/01/dreamliners-beleaguered-lithium-ion-battery-creates-problem-on-united-flight-to-paris/#55b29d8c8513 Boeing Dreamliner's Lithium-Ion Battery Fails On United Flight To Paris]. Forbes, Dec 1, 2017.
  23. (January 16, 2013). "Japanese airlines ground Boeing 787s after emergency landing". Reuters.
  24. McCurry, Justin. (January 16, 2013). "787 emergency landing: Japan grounds entire Boeing Dreamliner fleet". The Guardian.
  25. (January 17, 2013). "Boeing Dreamliners grounded worldwide on battery checks". Reuters.
  26. (January 16, 2013). "FAA Press Release". Federal Aviation Administration.
  27. "Thales selects GS Yuasa for Lithium ion battery system in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner". [[GS Yuasa]].
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  31. (October 11, 2007). "Special Conditions: Boeing Model 787– 8 Airplane; Lithium Ion Battery Installation". Federal Aviation Administration / [[Federal Register]].
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  33. Supko / Iverson. (2011). "Li battery UN test report applicability". [[NextGov]].
  34. Brewin, Bob. (January 22, 2013). "A 2006 Battery Fire Destroyed Boeing 787 Supplier's Facility". [[NextGov]].
  35. Nantel, Kelly. (January 20, 2013). "NTSB Provides Third Investigative Update on Boeing 787 Battery Fire in Boston". [[NTSB]].
  36. (January 24, 2013). "NTSB Press Release". [[NTSB]].
  37. (2013-01-25). "Protracted Fire Inquiry Keeping 787 on Ground". The New York Times.
  38. Mitra-Thakur, Sofia. (January 23, 2013). "Japan says 787 battery was not overcharged". [[Engineering & Technology]].
  39. Hradecky, Simon. (Feb 5, 2013). "ANA B788 near Takamatsu on Jan 16th 2013, battery problem and burning smell on board". The Aviation Herald.
  40. Christopher Drew, [[Hiroko Tabuchi]] and Jad Mouawad. (January 29, 2013). "Boeing 787 Battery Was a Concern Before Failure". The New York Times.
  41. "[http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/eng-air_report/JA804A.pdf JTSB report JA804A]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150930054957/http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/eng-air_report/JA804A.pdf Archive]). ''[[Japan Transport Safety Board]]'' - See [http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/aircraft/rep-inci/AI2014-4-3-JA804A.pdf Japanese version] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150401033917/http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/aircraft/rep-inci/AI2014-4-3-JA804A.pdf Archive]) (The Japanese version is the version of record, and it prevails in case of any differences between it and the English version) and "[http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/aircraft/p-pdf/AI2014-4-3-p.pdf 航空重大インシデント調査報告書説明資料]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150416213935/http://www.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/aircraft/p-pdf/AI2014-4-3-p.pdf Archive]).
  42. Tabuchi, Hiroko. (January 28, 2013). "No Quality Problems Found at Battery Maker for 787". The New York Times.
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  44. Knudson, Peter. (29 January 2013). "NTSB issues sixth update on JAL Boeing 787 battery fire investigation". [[NTSB]].
  45. "[https://www.bloomberg.com/video/airbus-ceo-confident-boeing-will-find-fix-for-787-b1zkhgggTB6DE6nv47gJNQ.html Airbus CEO 'Confident' Boeing Will Find Fix for 787]" [[Bloomberg L.P.. Bloomberg]], January 17, 2013.
  46. Robert Wall & Andrea Rothman. (January 17, 2013). "Airbus Says A350 Design Is 'Lower Risk' Than Troubled 787". [[Bloomberg L.P..
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  48. White, Martha C. (January 17, 2013). [https://business.time.com/2013/01/17/is-the-dreamliner-becoming-a-financial-nightmare-for-boeing/ "Is the Dreamliner Becoming a Financial Nightmare for Boeing?"] ''[[Time (magazine). Time]]''.
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  59. (April 19, 2013). "Boeing Fix for Battery Is Approved by F.A.A.". The New York Times.
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