The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold both a public “forum” and “investigative hearing” next month to explore issues surrounding the Boeing 787’s lithium ion batteries.
NTSB is continuing its investigation into the Jan. 7 Japan Airlines 787 lithium ion battery fire, one of two 787 battery failures that led to the Jan. 16 worldwide grounding of the Dreamliner fleet. The forum, to be held in mid-April in Washington DC at NTSB headquarters, “will explore lithium ion battery technology and transportation safety,” NTSB said in a statement. “The investigative hearing, to be held later in April [also at NTSB headquarters], will focus on the design and certification of the 787 battery system.”
Boeing has presented FAA with a proposed fix for the 787’s lithium ion batteries. FAA administrator Michael Huerta said this week that the agency could make a decision “soon” on whether to authorize a certification program for Boeing’s fix.