Investigators say battery on Boeing 787 was miswired
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TOKYO (AP) - A probe into the overheating of a lithium ion battery in an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 that made an emergency landing found it was improperly wired, Japan's Transport Ministry said Wednesday.
The Transport Safety Board said in a report that the battery for the aircraft's auxiliary power unit was incorrectly connected to the main battery that overheated, although a protective valve would have prevented power from the auxiliary unit from causing damage.
Flickering of the plane's tail and wing lights after it landed and the fact the main battery was switched off led the investigators to conclude there was an abnormal current traveling from the auxiliary power unit due to miswiring.
The agency said more analysis was needed to determine what caused the main battery to overheat and emit the smoke that prompted the Jan. 16 emergency landing of the ANA domestic flight and the worldwide grounding of Boeing 787 jets. They said they are consulting Boeing about the issue.
The Federal Aviation Administration and aviation authorities in other countries grounded 787 fleets because of the ANA incident, which followed a battery fire earlier in January in a 787 parked in Boston.
The 787, dubbed the Dreamliner by Boeing, is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter in weight, charge faster and contain more energy than conventional batteries similar in size. However, the batteries also are more prone to overheating and catching fire.
Also Wednesday, a congressional official says Boeing will propose to federal regulators a plan to temporarily fix problems with the 787 Dreamliner's batteries.
The official said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner is expected to present the plan to Michael Huerta, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, in a meeting later this week. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the plan.
The Transport Safety Board said in a report that the battery for the aircraft's auxiliary power unit was incorrectly connected to the main battery that overheated, although a protective valve would have prevented power from the auxiliary unit from causing damage.
Flickering of the plane's tail and wing lights after it landed and the fact the main battery was switched off led the investigators to conclude there was an abnormal current traveling from the auxiliary power unit due to miswiring.
The agency said more analysis was needed to determine what caused the main battery to overheat and emit the smoke that prompted the Jan. 16 emergency landing of the ANA domestic flight and the worldwide grounding of Boeing 787 jets. They said they are consulting Boeing about the issue.
The Federal Aviation Administration and aviation authorities in other countries grounded 787 fleets because of the ANA incident, which followed a battery fire earlier in January in a 787 parked in Boston.
The 787, dubbed the Dreamliner by Boeing, is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter in weight, charge faster and contain more energy than conventional batteries similar in size. However, the batteries also are more prone to overheating and catching fire.
Also Wednesday, a congressional official says Boeing will propose to federal regulators a plan to temporarily fix problems with the 787 Dreamliner's batteries.
The official said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner is expected to present the plan to Michael Huerta, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, in a meeting later this week. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the plan.
(TOKYO (AP) - A probe into the overheating of a lithium ion battery in an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 that made an emergency landing found it was improperly wired, Japan's Transport Ministry said Wednesday.)
Although it's probably a little more complicated than installing batteries in a flashlight- you would think that there would be a sensor or something that would alert the computer system to the error.
Where was the battery wired incorrectly ? In Japan? In USA ? In China? or one of the other countries involved in the production or assembly of the Wet Dream liner.
It could be that the instructions are written in Swahili and the nobody could read them >>>
Clay
19 yrs. at Boeing Portland
Buy "Made in America)
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Are you kidding me??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY WIRED IT WRONG!!!!!!!!!
Someone needs to lose their jobs over this. In some situations there isn't an option for mistakes and this is one of them.
Thankfully no one was hurt in this incident but it could have been a lot worse.
Boeing ought to rename the plane to the 787 Vista.
Someone needs to go to jail for life for this. This is essentially the same a pre-meditated mass murder if something happened.
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Attempted mass murder then. Like the Christmas tree bomber.
@Oregon7812Â Yeah, doubt that'll happen. With a majority of the crashes where people actually died no one gets prosecuted, and even if they did it was a short stint if not probation.Â
Perfect time to strike.
@therandomroger batteries were made in japan so the japanese are striking ??
I guessing there is a job opening for wiring up the batteries on these planes :)
@kramr Hopefully Boeing has stopped hiring the color blind.
"Oh, I see the problem. Â This here 'valve' in your circuit got stuck. Â A couple of raps with a hammer ought to straighten it right out."
Sure it was. Miswired sounds much nicer than 'we screwed up during fabrication.'
Oh oh someone is in deep doo doo.
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@TheUglyTruth First and foremost...do research, really easy
Batteries are manufactured by a japanese company..GS Yuasa Corp., they are not union AND the batteries were most likely "prewired" per design....nice try though !
I'm no airline master engineering guru or anything, but doesn't red go to positive and black go to negative? If they couldn't figure that one out, they should've just taken the plane to Pep Boys. They would install the battery for free.
axpman is correct. The airline industry has employed contra-engineered mass conduction in its wiring since the 60's so yes, red goes to negative and black to positive in airlines. It's a strange world.
@UselessOpinion Not in the aircraft production industry.. they just say screw it and fly it anyway..
"Flickering of the plane's tail and wing lights after it landed and the fact the main battery was switched off led the investigators to conclude there was an abnormal current traveling from the auxiliary power unit due to miswiring."
"concluded" ??? From looking at "flickering" lights ?? Did anyone look at the other battery set ups that failed but did not burn up ? You'd think they could have seen first hand the miss-wiring ? Sounds goofy ??
I overheat on them airliners all the time but they don't care about that. By the time we land I have sweat stains to the center of my chest and down to my belly. Maybe I get a little nervous too, lol
TMI........