The FAA Will Let Boeing's 787 Dreamliner Fly Again 32
derekmead writes "Having completed intense review of the aircraft's flight systems and functionality, component reliability, two weeks ago Boeing completed testing on the last item on its list, the plane's battery housing. The FAA on Friday approved the new system. That means the 787, which Boeing has continued to build while new battery solutions were developed, will now be able to resume regular flights as soon as workers are able to carry out an overhaul of the planes that need the upgrade. 'FAA approval clears the way for us and the airlines to begin the process of returning the 787 to flight with continued confidence in the safety and reliability of this game-changing new airplane,' Jim McNerney, CEO of Boeing, said in a news release announcing the approval."
Re:it just can't fly as far (Score:5, Informative)
Nope, it's been explicitly confirmed that the 787 has retained its ETOPs 180 certification.
Re:root cause hasn't been found (Score:3, Informative)
Let's have a dose of reality here. The root cause is PRESUMED to have been manufacturing defects. Nobody at Boeing or the FAA seems to have genuinely evaluated the likelihood that the lithium ion technology has BUILT-IN liability in the basic concept.
The only real question here is whether the protective redesign is adequate to contain the inevitable battery failures which will come, without setting the plane on fire or releasing poisonous fumes into the cabin.
Re:it just can't fly as far (Score:5, Informative)
It was certainly designed for ETOPS 330, but it hadnt yet achieved certification for it - no aircraft infact has.
Re:it just can't fly as far (Score:5, Informative)
Type design approval is NOT certification - both the type and the operator needs to achieve certification to fly ETOPS 330. The 777 still has to achieve type certification for 330.