Announces Forum And Investigative Hearing

The National Transportation Safety Board has released an interim factual report and 499 pages of related documents in its ongoing investigation of the Japan Airlines 787 battery fire in Boston. Additionally, NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman announced today (Thursday) that the NTSB will be holding both a forum and a hearing in April to provide additional information to advance the investigation.

"With the grounding of the 787 fleet, concurrent international incident investigations, redesign and re-certification activities taking place simultaneously, it is essential to provide the aviation community, policy makers and the public with the factual information we are developing," said Hersman. “Releasing an interim report provides a window into the significant investigative work that has been accomplished so far."

The forum, which will be held in mid-April, will explore lithium-ion battery technology and transportation safety. The investigative hearing, to be held later in April, will focus on the design and certification of the 787 battery system.

"The information developed through the upcoming forum and the hearing will help the NTSB and the entire transportation community better understand the risks and benefits associated with lithium batteries, and illuminate how manufacturers and regulators evaluate the safety of new technology,” Hersman said.

Both proceedings, which will be held at the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center in Washington, will be webcast live and will be open to the public. Additional details about each event, including dates, times, agendas and participants, will be released in the coming weeks.

The 48-page interim factual report summarizes the NTSB’s initial findings on the JAL battery fire investigation. The report includes details on how the maintenance personal discovered the fire and how the firefighters responded and extinguished it, findings from the examination of the battery and test results of related components, initial reports on the flight recorder data, a description of the 787 electrical power system certification plan, and a list of ongoing and planned investigative activities.

(images provided by the NTSB)

FMI: http://go.usa.gov/2Dck, http://go.usa.gov/4K4J