The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold the first
of two Boeing 787-related public events April 11-12,
focusing generally on lithium ion batteries in
transportation.
According to NTSB, the lithium ion battery
“forum,” to be held at the board’s headquarters
in Washington DC, will focus on the “the design, development and
performance of lithium ion batteries; regulations and standards related to
manufacturing, use and transport of the batteries; and the application and
safety aspects of lithium battery technology in various transportation
modes.”
NTSB is continuing its investigation into the Jan. 7 Japan
Airlines 787 lithium ion battery fire in Boston. Later in April, it
plans to hold a public hearing specifically focused on the design and
certification of the 787’s battery system, which uses lithium ion
batteries.
The April 11-12 forum “will explore failure modes and
other performance issues” with lithium ion batteries, NTSB said.
While the event will inevitably focus on the 787’s batteries, it
also likely will touch on lithium batteries carried as air cargo. Two
fatalfreighter crashes, one involving a UPS 747-400 in September
2010 and another involving an Asiana Airlines 747-400 in July 2011, have been
tied to lithium battery cargo fires.