On 25/02/2013, at 8:33 PM, Craig Vinall <[email protected]> wrote:

> Thought this may be of interest. I know that these batteries are becoming 
> popular in gliders; what do others think? Is there a potential fire risk?

Probably the wrong question to ask, given that you could just as easily inquire 
into whether
there's a potential fire risk inherent in carrying around tanks of volatile 
hydrocarbons.

More useful questions would be, "Under what conditions can a fire start," and, 
"Once it
has started, what can you do about it?"

By my money, the worst parts about the event in NY weren't associated with the 
fact that
the batteries caught fire; the worst bits were the fact that Boeing had assured 
the FAA 
that thermal runaway was impossible (it clearly wasn't) and the fact that it 
took fire crews,
with all their training and specialized equipment, more than 40 minutes to 
extinguish it.

Could have been worse -- could have been over the Pacific somewhere at the 
limits of
ETOPS.

ANA has grounded their 787s until at least May, so there'll be a lot of time to 
ponder those
issues before they start flying again.

  - mark


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