Boeing’s ill-fated 787 has once again taken to the skies for testing in an effort to find a solution to the battery issue that has left the fleet grounded for the better part of the past month. The Federal Aviation Administration granted the company a special airworthiness certificate on Feb. 7, giving Boeing the ability to perform flights related to research and testing to solve the battery issue.
In early January the first of a series of lithium-ion batteries caught fire onboard a 787 parked on the ground in Boston. The next week a second Dreamliner battery experienced a thermal runaway during a passenger flight in Japan. Nobody was hurt in either incident, but the FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive (.pdf) stating, “this AD requires modification of the battery system, or other actions, in accordance with a method approved by the Manager, Seattle Aircraft Certification Office (ACO), FAA.” Other agencies around the world followed suit and the global fleet of 787s was grounded.
Boeing was allowed to make a one-time ferry flight of a Dreamliner from its Texas paint shop to the factory north of Seattle last Thursday. On Saturday the company prepared its only remaining active flight test aircraft, ZA005, at Boeing Field in Seattle for a preliminary test flight. The airplane departed Boeing Field Saturday morning and, as dictated by the FAA, flew over the sparsely populated areas in the eastern half of Washington state before finishing the two-hour, 19-minute flight over the Olympic Peninsula northwest of Seattle.
In a statement, a Boeing spokesman said the 787 had a crew of 13 on board and it was – thankfully – an uneventful flight. The two pilots and flight test engineers monitored the performance of the two lithium-ion batteries using test equipment installed specifically for the battery testing. However, Boeing has yet to share any details from the flight.
Today ZA005 was again back in the skies above eastern Washington on the second flight test. The test pilots on today’s flight were Randy Neville and Mike Bryan, the same pilots we flew with last year during a 787 preview. The airplane was the first to fly with the General Electric engines (Rolls Royce engines power the other 787s), and was being used for flight test work related to the next Dreamliner model, the slightly longer 787-9.
As flight testing begins to find a solution to the battery problem, airlines are being warned that the 787s they’ve ordered may be delayed yet again. However, production of the Dreamliner continues at both the Everett factory north of Seattle as well as the new factory in South Carolina. But without the ability to perform production flight testing of each new airplane – or simply deliver Dreamliners – the 787s are again turning the airports next to the factories into parking lots to house the massive planes.
Airlines with grounded 787 fleets are beginning to talk with Boeing about compensation for the millions of dollars being lost as their airplanes collect dust on the ground.
The National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation into the root cause of the battery problem. The agency announced it found evidence of electrical shorts within a single cell of the 63 pound lithium-ion battery in the Boston airplane. The NTSB said it expects to issue a preliminary report in the next month, but it is up to the FAA to allow the airplane to begin flying again. No timeline has been issued, but most in the industry agree it is more likely a matter of months rather than weeks before the 787 will be carrying passengers again.
Boeing Begins Flight Testing of 787 Dreamliner to Find Battery Faults
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Boeing Begins Flight Testing of 787 Dreamliner to Find Battery Faults
