Revamped Dreamliner completes final tests
Boeing has completed the final tests of the new battery unit on its B787 Dreamliner.
The US planemaker has been testing a re-cased version of the aircraft’s lithium-ion battery for the past few weeks, aboard a Dreamliner built for LOT Polish Airlines. The new battery casing is designed to remove any risk of fire resulting from overheating or short-circuiting. And on Friday (5 April 2013), Boeing said it had completed all tests required by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and would now submit the results to the FAA.
“We expect to deliver all of the materials to the FAA in the coming days. Once we deliver the materials we stand ready to reply to additional requests and continue in dialog with the FAA to ensure we have met all of their expectations,” Boeing said in a statement.
The FAA will now determine whether the aircraft can re-enter commercial service.
All Dreamliners have been grounded since 17 January 2013, the day after the battery aboard a B787 operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA) overheated and forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing. This incident occurred just a week after a similar incident affected a Dreamliner belonging to Japan Airlines (JAL). Since this time, all 50 of the world’s operational B787s – in service with eight airlines – have been grounded, and deliveries have ceased.
Despite this Boeing announced recently that it delivered a total of 137 commercial aircraft in the first quarter of 2013 – on a par with last year. Strong demand for the single-aisle B737 series offset a decline in B787 deliveries.