Scrutiny of 787 fire ramps up; Boeing shares fall

AP ^ | January 8, 2013 | JOSHUA FREED

[ConservativeStatement]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal safety investigators intensified their scrutiny of a Monday fire aboard a Boeing 787 as concerned investors sold shares in the aircraft maker for a second day.

Boeing on Tuesday confirmed that the fire aboard a Japan Airlines plane appeared to have started in a battery pack for the plane’s auxiliary power unit.

The National Transportation Safety Board described the fire damage to the battery as ‘‘severe,’’ and said it is sending two more investigators to examine the Japan Airlines plane. It also formed investigative groups to look at the plane’s electrical systems as well as the fire response.

[Moonman62]

That was the latest one. Also FEDEX in Newark, and a passenger MD-11 somewhere in Asia a few years ago.

[pfflier]

Yes, their maintenance practices branded Douglas aircraft's DC-10 as a killer in almost everybody's eyes.

The cargo latch failures later signed the death warrant for the 10's in airline passenger carrying service. As cargo haulers and the KC-10, their record has been very good.

[pfflier]

BS. Engineering does not have to result in failure. Bad mangement is most likely the cause. For every failure there is an engineer saying, “Told ya so.”

I've sat in many design reviews where the engineers insist their design is perfect even though it can be and was proven to be unproducible, faulty or just plain failed in concept.

That's why there are dash numbers and revision letters in engineering documentation, someone fixed a design flaw or implemented a work-around.

[Moonman62]

None of them are that particularly good. The 777 seems to be about the best.

I saw a 777 fly over today at about 10,000 feet. That is one huge aircraft for two engines. They routinely fly very long polar routes with the engines being monitored by satellite. It is one very impressive aircraft, though there was one in Egypt in 2011 that had a cockpit fire on the ground and was a total loss. No passenger fatalities in its operating history, though.

Eventually, the 787 will be impressive, too (other than on paper), but, with hindsight, a lot of mistakes were made.

[ConservativeStatement]

The stock had a good day. The company climbed 3.5 percent to close at $76.76.