Boeing Tries Battery Fix to Get Dreamliners Airborne

FAA allows one 787 to fly for one trip
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2013 9:28 AM CST
Boeing Tries Battery Fix to Get Dreamliners Airborne
A line of Boeing 787 jets are parked nose-to-tail at Paine Field Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, in Everett, Wash.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Boeing is hoping changes to its controversial lithium-ion batteries will get the FAA to lift the grounding order on the 787 Dreamliner, at least until it figures out a longer-term fix, reports the Wall Street Journal. American and Japanese regulators will have to accept Boeing's modifications—and the Journal notes it's not clear they would—which would include increasing spacing between battery cells, adding heat sensors, and stiffening the cells to prevent them from shifting. The FAA is also considering allowing Boeing to resume test flights so the company can better examine the battery problems.

As Boeing works on its 787 problems, the FAA gave its approval yesterday to allow one 787 to fly again—just to get it from a Fort Worth painting plant back to Boeing's Seattle plant, notes the New York Times. It's a one-time-only exception, and the plane will only fly a crew, no passengers. (More Boeing 787 Dreamliner stories.)

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