Dreamliner Grounded...

[WKDWZD]

All of Boeing's flagship 787 Dreamliner planes grounded on safety fears.

[ms maggie]

This is going to kill Boeing at least short term.

[flyboy56]

Most aircraft batteries are Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad).

Safety requirements

If overheated or overcharged, Li-ion batteries may suffer thermal runaway and cell rupture.[52] In extreme cases this can lead to combustion. Deep discharge may short-circuit the cell, in which case recharging would be unsafe.[citation needed] To reduce these risks, Lithium-ion battery packs contain fail-safe circuitry that shuts down the battery when its voltage is outside the safe range of 3–4.2 V per cell.[35][44] When stored for long periods the small current draw of the protection circuitry itself may drain the battery below its shut down voltage; normal chargers are then ineffective. Many types of lithium-ion cell cannot be charged safely below 0°C.[53]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery

[Spot72]

The FAA made the correct call in grounding the 787. They need to find out if there are design flaws or manufacturing errors before letting this aircraft fly again. Somehow design reviews, inspections and tests have not been sufficient to find or unearth deficiencies. Boeing and the FAA certification missed the deficiencies unless it's manufacturing errors and poor manufacturing inspection. Boeing can determine if it's design, manufacturing mistakes or inspection failure.

I think Boeing chose to use LiCoO2 as the cathode in the Li-ion batteries on these planes. This cathode chemistry is far more energetic, but; therefore, far more potentially hazardous than the LiFePO4 cathode chemistry that is employed in the Chevy Volt. I would think that the 787 design was finalized and accepted by the FAA before the LiFePO4 chemistry became acceptable. It would seem to me that if Boeing replaced the LiCoO2 cathode batteries with the LiFePO4 cathode batteries, the chance of potential fires would be greatly reduced.

[kandace]

The 787 is not merely a historic feat of engineering. The program also marks Boeing's departure from its own time-honored manufacturing practices. Instead of drawing primarily from its traditional pool of aircraft engineers, mechanics and laborers that runs generations deep in the Puget Sound region around Seattle, Boeing leads an international team of suppliers and engineers from the United States, Japan, Italy, Australia, France and elsewhere, who make components that Boeing workers in the United States put together.

Union busting gone bad. Airplanes are not automobiles. Silly Boeing.

[flyboy56]

The 787 is not merely a historic feat of engineering. The program also marks Boeing's departure from its own time-honored manufacturing practices. Instead of drawing primarily from its traditional pool of aircraft engineers, mechanics and laborers that runs generations deep in the Puget Sound region around Seattle, Boeing leads an international team of suppliers and engineers from the United States, Japan, Italy, Australia, France and elsewhere, who make components that Boeing workers in the United States put together.

Union busting gone bad. Airplanes are not automobiles. Silly Boeing.

We are talking about an entirely different type of aircraft. It is truly a fly by wire aircraft using aluminum wire instead of copper which is heavier and a new type of battery system that eliminates many of the mechanical components driven by the engines. The Boeing employees in Washington are just as unfamiliar with this new technology as the employees in South Carolina. To say union employees would have done a better job is just fiction.

[flyboy56]

I agree grounding these planes was the correct action since they are used to carry passengers. If they were cargo haulers then they most likely would not have grounded them.