Thursday, March 07, 2013

LaHood Still Has Questions On 787s

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood needs more information to be convinced that Boeing Co.'s  proposed fixes to batteries on its 787 Dreamliner are adequate to enable the jet to resume commercial flights.

"I have made it very clear that I want a thorough review" of the Boeing plan, Mr. LaHood told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. "I am going to ask a lot of questions" before a final decision is made.

Mr. LaHood's comments are the latest sign that Boeing faces regulatory headwinds in getting quick approval for a package of fixes to the Dreamliner's battery system that it hopes will end the world-wide grounding of its flagship jetliner that started in mid-January.

Boeing is pushing fixes designed to mitigate the risk of fire in the 787's lithium-ion batteries despite the inability of U.S. and Japanese investigators to pinpoint a specific cause of burning batteries on a pair of 787 jets operated by Japanese carriers in January. Boeing is getting closer to winning Federal Aviation Administration support for that proposal that could enable Boeing to start test flights as soon as this month.

But the pushback against a quick final decision from Mr. LaHood—who oversees the FAA and must sign off on any package of fixes—and from regulators in Japan threatens to delay the more important resumption of Dreamliner commercial flights for months, according to industry and government officials.

Since the grounding, Mr. LaHood has privately raised questions about Boeing's proposal, urged additional engineering reviews and generally embraced a go-slow federal approach, the officials said. In Wednesday's interview, he reiterated that he intends "to get to the bottom of what happened, why it happened and what we can do prevent it."

Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney, in a conversation with the secretary last week, acknowledged Mr. LaHood's "tough but fair-minded approach" on evaluating the proposed fix to the 787, according to a Boeing executive. Mr. McNerney answered questions and expressed the company's "full support and confidence" in its proposed solution, this person said.

The timing of the FAA's decision is important for Boeing, which may have to pay penalties to its airline customers for the time their Dreamliners are stuck on the ground or for delays in new-plane deliveries. Mr. McNerney has said the Dreamliner represents his company's short- and medium-term future.

Boeing's proposed changes focus on increasing separation between cells in the 787's lithium-ion batteries to prevent overheating, and on protecting the batteries inside a sturdier, more fire-resistant container, even though investigators haven't yet identified the exact cause of the burning batteries on a pair of Dreamliners.

A team of FAA technical experts is urging preliminary approval of Boeing's plan, and FAA chief Michael Huerta appears likely to agree within a week or so, the officials said. That would establish a framework that could allow Boeing to begin test flights as soon as the third week in March. Results from those flights would have to be analyzed by agency officials and reviewed by Secretary LaHood and his staff before Boeing could seek permission to retrofit aircraft and seek new certification. Routine certification tests for batteries take four or five weeks, according to industry officials.

"The due diligence of our regulators is expected and welcome, and has made air travel the safest form of transportation," Ray Conner, head of Boeing's commercial airplane unit, said in an email. "We are ready to move ahead as soon as we get the FAA's approval."

Mr. LaHood, a former Republican congressman with a history of frosty relations with some FAA leaders, has been lukewarm from the beginning about locking in changes before investigators pinpoint a specific cause of the 787's battery problems. When the 787 was grounded, he publicly pledged it wouldn't take off again with passengers until investigators determined the precise cause of the overheating batteries and regulators felt "1,000% sure" of the plane's safety.

After a phone call last month in which the FAA chief spelled out details of anticipated battery enhancements, Mr. LaHood appeared unconvinced, according to officials briefed on the session, and agency officials concluded that he wanted more certainty about potential causes of previous battery meltdowns.

The National Transportation Safety Board will release an update Thursday morning on its investigation into the battery fire in January aboard a Japan Airlines 787 on the ground in Boston, but the documents aren't expected to shed much more light on the probable cause. The NTSB has no direct say in whether Boeing's proposed fixes are approved, but its findings influence regulators' thinking and affect public opinion about aviation hazards.

Boeing has also faced skeptics in Tokyo, where regulators and investigators are conducting their own analysis of what happened and how to go forward. GS Yuasa Corp., Boeing's battery supplier, last month pushed for an additional layer of protection against external power surges, people familiar with the company said, but those concerns have since been withdrawn.

Boeing's fixes will require substantial time-consuming engineering changes to the 787, including its structure. In addition to modifying the already-packed electric equipment racks in the under-floor bays, the company will have to cut and reinforce a hole in the carbon fiber skin of the jet as part of its plan to ensure smoke or fumes are vented overboard from a failed battery, says a person familiar with the plan.

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