Home Medical Factors Facing Pilots Aviation Stories Of Interest FAA Exam Aviation News Maintenance and Aircraft Mechanics General Aviation Helicopters
Aviation History Legal Issues In Aviation Links To Other Sites Editorials Hot Air Balloon Aviation Training Handbooks Read Online Upcoming Events Editorials

 



 
Airbus Activates “Plan B” For The A350 XWB Batteries
 
By Jim Douglas
 

February 15, 2013 - Airbus is confident that the lithium ion (Li-ion) main battery architecture it has been developing with Saft and qualifying for the A350 XWB aircraft is robust and safe. The A350 XWB flight test program will continue as planned with the qualified Li-ion main batteries. 

On 16th of January All Nippon Airways Flight NH-692, en route from Ube to Tokyo Haneda, had received indications of battery problems, followed by a burning smell while climbing from Ube, about 35 nautical miles west of Takamatsu, Japan. The pilots decided to divert to Takamatsu, where the plane landed, vacated the runway, and was evacuated via slides.  

Inspection of the battery compartment revealed that they had suffered a battery fire. This, along with a very similar incident of a parked Japan Airlines 787 in Boston that also had a battery fire within the same week, led the Federal Aviation Administration to ground all Boeing 787s that were flying at the time. 

 

On January 16, 2013, the FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive ordering all U.S.-based airlines to ground their Boeing 787s until yet-to-be-determined modifications are made to the electrical system to reduce the risk of the battery overheating or catching fire.

Due to the unknown root causes of the two recent industry Li-ion main batteries incidents Airbus has decided to activate its “Plan B” and therefore to revert back to the proven and mastered nickel cadmium main batteries for its A350 XWB program at Entry into Service (EIS). Airbus considers this to be the most appropriate way forward in the interest of program execution and A350 XWB reliability.

In parallel, Airbus has also launched additional maturity studies on Li-ion main batteries behavior in aerospace operations and will naturally take on board the findings of the ongoing official investigation. As a result of making this decision now, Airbus does not expect it to impact the A350 XWB Entry Into Service schedule.

 

 

 
 
Other News Stories (For the latest news please checkout our home page)
 
 
 
 
blog comments powered by Disqus  
Home Aviation News Aviation Stories Of Interest FAA Exam Upcoming Events Links To Other Sites General Aviation Helicopters Medical Factors Facing Pilots
Maintenance and Aircraft Mechanics Hot Air Balloon Aviation Training Handbooks Read Online Aviation History Legal Issues In Aviation Sea Planes Editorials
 
 ©AvStop Online Magazine                                                                 Contact Us                                                  Return To News                                          Bookmark and Share  
 
 

AvStop Aviation News and Resource Online Magazine