Boeing 787 Probe Far From Over, Investigations Continue

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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner investigation being carried out by U.S. safety regulators is nowhere near its end, according to a top official. The investigation was started after the battery of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) 787 caught fire. This means that the Dreamliner (Boeing 787) will remain grounded for many more days.

Boeing 787 Probe Far From Over, Investigations Continue

According to the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman, investigators found a series of “symptoms”, but failed to cite the underlying cause of the battery damage which occurred on January 7, in Boston. As per the chairman, the agency will also take into consideration the design of the battery compartment area of the plane and also, whether the certification standards have been strong enough.

The comments of the chairman of NTSB are considered to be very serious by some safety experts in the aerospace industry. These investigations  raises questions about the financial impact on The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which is still running its assembly line, and also other airlines  planning to get Boeing 787.

As per the NTSB chairman, there are a lot of investigations to be carried out, and the event, which occurred on January 7th was an exceptional event and turns out to be a serious safety concern.

Reacting to the questions on how long the investigation would take, Deborah Hersman said that it could be weeks or more, and the decision to allow Boeing 787 fly again is within the purview of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

According to the former NTSB chairman, Mark Rosenker, it was clear from the briefing that investigators got negligible facts regarding the incident and that the investigation can take up to several weeks.

Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with Virgina Based Teal Group, held a similar view, he said investigators have found nothing regarding the Boeing 787 battery fire issue. According to Aboulafia, there was no near term end to the investigation and the briefing indicated that investigators are middle way with their probe, and there is still a lot of work to be done.

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) 787 has been grounded and is not allowed to fly until investigations are over, after an All Nippon Airways plane made an emergency landing in Japan on January 16, after the battery of a Boeing 787 caught fire.

Boeing in a statement said that it was providing full co0operation in the investigation with the regulators and has teams of “hundreds of engineering and technical experts”  working to find the cause of battery fire.

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