Passenger groups question Dreamliner safety
Two airline passenger groups in the US have challenged the safety of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
They are demanding the US government limit flights on the new widebody jets until the safety of its lithium-ion batteries is proven.
FlyersRights.org and the Aviation Consumer Action Project have petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) for a two-hour limit from the nearest airport on 787 flights.
The FAA certified the Boeing 787 to fly up to three hours from the nearest airport in 2011, based on assurances from Boeing that the plane was safe. But the FAA grounded the entire 787 fleet in January 2013 after a battery fire on one 787 and smoke on another.
“Our proposed actions are both urgent and necessary,” said attorney Paul Hudson, leader of both organisations and a prominent aviation-safety advocate for 25 years.
“The 787 lithium ion batteries have a long history of overheating, catching fire, even exploding. This could easily bring down an airliner, especially if it was not within easy reach of an airport for an emergency landing.”
The advocacy groups’ formal petition is backed up by testimony from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, a prominent battery-safety consultant, and former DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo.
Limiting the 787 to flights within two hours of the nearest airport would prohibit trans-Pacific flights and flights over the North Pole, but flights between the US and Europe and flights over land would not be affected.
Although US investigators still don’t know what caused the batteries to overheat, the FAA has approved a proposed Boeing fix that the manufacturer claims would stop any fires that started.
United Airlines, the only US carrier with 787s in its fleet, is scheduled to resume 787 flights on May 20.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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