A series of failures by the Federal Aviation Administration,
Boeing Co. and its supplier of lithium ion batteries contributed to
the fire that led to the grounding of the global 787 jet fleet last
year, according to a report Monday from the U.S. aviation safety
watchdog.
The National Transportation Safety Board stopped short of
identifying a definitive cause of the short circuit that triggered
a battery fire aboard a Japan Airlines Dreamliner 787 at Boston's
Logan International Airport in January 2013, but said design,
manufacturing and regulatory deficiencies contributed to the
incident.
The agency said the incident resulted from Boeing's failure to
sufficiently plan for a severe battery failure and mitigate its
impact. It also cited the FAA's "failure to identify this design
deficiency" during the jet's certification process. The board also
said Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa Corp.'s "manufacturing process
allowed defects" that could cause internal short circuiting of the
battery's internal cells.
Following a second incident with an overheating battery days
later on another Dreamliner operated by ANA Holdings Inc.'s All
Nippon Airways, U.S. aviation authorities ordered the global fleet
of 50 long-range 787s grounded. Other regulators around the world
followed, and the fleet was grounded for 3 1/2 months.
Boeing designed new measures for the advanced jets to reduce the
risk of a battery fire, including a containment and venting system
that would flush any smoke or fumes overboard in the event of a
failure. The Dreamliner fleet returned to service in April
2013.
A Boeing spokesman in a statement it agreed with the report's
finding that a short circuit inside one of the battery's six cells
propagated and caused the battery failure, adding that it remains
"confident in the comprehensive improvements made to the 787
battery system following this event, and in the overall performance
of the battery system and the safety of the airplane."
The company did not immediately comment on the NTSB's assertion
that Boeing's failure partially contributed to the problem.
Attorney Kenneth Quinn, the U.S. spokesman for Yuasa, said in a
statement Monday that "we appreciate and respect the NTSB's final
report, although the root cause of this internal short circuit
remains elusive." Mr. Quinn, a partner in the Washington office of
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP also said the company remains
confident "in the quality and safety of our batteries, our
state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and our highly skilled and
trained employees," but plans to study the safety board's
conclusions and recommendations.
Andy Pasztor contributed to this article.
Write to Jon Ostrower at jon.ostrower@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for GS Yuasa Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=JP3385820000
Access Investor Kit for ANA Holdings, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=JP3429800000
Access Investor Kit for ANA Holdings, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0323501009
Access Investor Kit for The Boeing Co.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0970231058
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires