WSJ: Boeing Had Considered Battery Fire Nearly Impossible, Report Says

[jannyk]

The battery that burst into flames two months ago on a Boeing Co. 787 jet in Boston experienced dramatic power fluctuations and other failures its designers had considered practically impossible, according to the latest report by U.S. air-safety regulators.
Their update, however, didn't clear up the mystery over the fire's initial cause.

The National Transportation Safety Board interim report released Thursday did, however, provide some new details about how a short-circuit that began in a single battery cell spread to seven other cells and ended up in an uncontrollable thermal reaction that quickly reached about 500 degrees Fahrenheit, burning through the battery's metal container.

Fire and smoke aboard the Japan Airlines Co. plane in Boston were so intense that firefighters had limited visibility when they entered the electronics bay containing the burning battery, the report said. A fire captain on the scene told investigators that the battery was "hissing loudly and liquid was flowing down the sides of the battery case" before it "exploded."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324034804578346094166342254.html


...and the Titanic was unsinkable!

[Fumesucker]

1. It's even worse than it looks

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130306/BLOG01/130309884

Boeing is conducting a survey about air travel in general and flying on the Dreamliner in particular, asking email subscribers of NewAirplane.com to fill out an online poll.

The company's move comes as the Federal Aviation Administration considers a Boeing proposal to resolve problems with the 787's lithium-ion batteries. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has said he expects a staff report this week on the matter. The agency grounded the 787 on Jan. 16, following two battery failures.

Boeing's survey isn't the first of its kind.

In February, 32 percent of respondents of The Travel Insider's poll said they wouldn't fly on a 787. Local analyst Scott Hamilton also recently surveyed readers of his Leeham Co. blog. His poll shows about 46 percent of respondents say they'll wait a year or two after Boeing resolves the 787's problems to fly on one. Almost the same percentage of respondents said they're confident in Boeing's solution, though details of that are not yet public.

[jsr]

2. "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations,

for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman.