Federal Aviation Administration: 787 Can't Return Until Fire Risks Fixed

Federal Aviation Administration officials said they're reviewing a proposal from Boeing Co. to let the 787 Dreamliner fly again, but reiterated the agency won't permit the plane to return to service until officials are confident safety risks over the jetliner's lithium-ion batteries have been addressed.

The agency's comments came after FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari met Friday with a delegation led by Ray Conner, chief of Boeing's commercial unit, to discuss a package of modifications to the 787's battery system that Boeing hopes will end the FAA's five-week-old grounding of the 787.

The meeting was viewed as a first of many pivotal steps in Boeing's effort to resume flights for its flagship plane despite the inability of the company and government investigators in the U.S. and Japan to determine the root cause of two incidents last month in which the Dreamliner's batteries burned.

While FAA engineers and managers were briefed by Boeing in the days leading up to the meeting, the agency's leadership told the company beforehand not to expect any decision at Friday's high-level session, according to people familiar with the details. After a detailed technical briefing, senior FAA officials reiterated they needed more time to analyze the proposed fixes, according to one knowledgeable person, and indicated they weren't ready to commit to a company request to start flight tests as soon as early March.

Besides Messrs. Huerta, Conner and Pocari, Boeing and FAA officials in the meeting included Peggy Gilligan, the agency's top safety official, and her deputy, John Hickey, who was head of the FAA certification office for new jetliners when many of the 787's safety reviews were conducted, and Mike Sinnett, the 787's chief engineer, according to people familiar with the meeting.

The early March date is important for Boeing if it hopes to get the planes back in the air sometime that month or in April, which is the expectation of some airline customers. Also during the first part of March, the National Transportation Safety Board is slated to release further details of its probe of burning 787 batteries. With Boeing pushing the FAA for a speedy decision, some agency officials are leery of moving before the safety board's findings can be fully assessed.

The FAA is "reviewing a Boeing proposal and will analyze it closely," agency spokeswoman Laura Brown said in an email. "We won't allow the 787 to return to commercial service until we're confident that any proposed solution has addressed the battery failure risks."

Boeing called the meeting "productive," but offered no details on its proposed fixes. "We are encouraged by the progress being made toward resolving the issue and returning the 787 to flight for our customers and their passengers around the world," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said in an emailed statement.

Boeing's proposal involves a 10-point package of changes, according to government and industry officials. They include a containment box to surround the battery, venting tubes for smoke or fumes, greater spacing between the battery's cells and additional internal temperature and voltage monitoring.

The FAA's decision holds huge stakes for Boeing and for the eight global airlines whose 787s have been idled. Boeing also has been unable to deliver dozens more already built Dreamliners while the grounding is in effect, meaning it can't get fully paid for the jets, and putting new operators on hold.

Mr. Birtel said Boeing, the FAA and other authorities have "been working closely" while "teams of hundreds of experts and working this issue around the clock" to return the 787 safely to service.

The safety board has been conducting an intensive probe into what caused a battery aboard a Japan Airlines Co. 787 jet to catch fire on the ground in Boston after a flight from Tokyo on Jan. 7. That was followed on Jan. 16 by an All Nippon Airways Co. 787 that was forced to make an emergency landing during a Japanese domestic flight after a battery overheated. The FAA ordered all U.S. Dreamliners grounded, with regulators around the world quickly following suit.