787 by April?

Boeing has proposed a fix for the 787 Dreamliner’s problems that could see the airliner back in service by April.

The next question is whether the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will agree to let it fly even though the root cause of a battery fire in one plane and a smoking battery in another is still unknown.

The plan – a long-term solution, rather than a temporary fix – calls for revamping the plane’s lithium ion batteries to ensure that any short-circuiting that could lead to a fire will not spread from one battery cell to others.

Nothing has been said officially by either Boeing or the FAA but it is clear that the plan will require testing and partial recertification.  With billions at stake, and the ever present legal shadow, the FAA is likely to be over cautious.

Even after the batteries are recertified, it could take some time to get the show back into the air.  Boeing will have to send teams to eight airlines in seven countries to retrofit their planes.  And fix perhaps 50 aircraft on the ground at Everett. Five a month are still coming down the line! 

Without doubt this is now the biggest civil aviation crisis since the Comet tragedies of the early 1950s.   See also Channel 4 last Sunday 24 February "The great British Air Disasters". www.boeing.com/commercial

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