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courier-journal.com > Business
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Batteries get scrutiny in UPS plane fire
NTSB hearing scheduled for July
By Wayne Tompkins
[email protected] The Courier-Journal
Shipments of potentially hazardous lithium batteries will be scrutinized at a
hearing in Washington next month as part of the federal investigation into a
fire aboard a UPS jet Feb. 8.
The DC-8 caught fire in flight; the three-member crew landed it at Philadelphia
International Airport and escaped with minor injuries. The fire severely damaged
the aircraft and destroyed much of its cargo.
The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigation has determined
that lithium batteries and at least one flammable solvent were on the flight,
but has not said publicly what role, if any, those materials played in the fire.
The board's July 12-13 hearing will consider the safety issues surrounding the
transportation of hazardous materials aboard cargo aircraft.
"The public hearing will focus on an accident that occurred on a cargo plane
that caught fire while carrying potentially dangerous goods," said Deborah
Hersman, an NTSB member who will preside over the hearings. "We will . determine
what needs to be done to protect the crew, the aircraft and the cargo on these
types of flights."
Representatives from the NTSB, Federal Aviation Administration, UPS, Boeing and
the Independent Pilots Association will gather information from industry and
government representatives on topics including airport rescue and firefighting
response to the UPS flight.
"We're working along with the NTSB and cooperating fully with the
investigation . hopefully identifying the cause of the incident," UPS spokesman
Mark Giuffre said.
The design, testing and recalls of lithium batteries; regulations concerning
shipping lithium; and aircraft fire detection and suppression systems also will
be discussed.
The NTSB will use information from the hearing to prepare a final report on the
incident, including safety recommendations.
According to NTSB records, a company's improper packaging of lithium batteries
was the "probable cause" of an Aug. 7, 2004, fire in a freight bin at FedEx's
air hub in Memphis, Tenn. The bin had been raised on loading equipment and
pushed halfway onto an airplane when loading personnel smelled smoke.
When Memphis firefighters opened the bin, a fire broke out. Only the battery
package in the bin had fire damage.
The board cited "failure of unapproved packaging" that was inadequate to protect
the batteries from short circuits during transport.
Lithium batteries are commonly used in electronics equipment.
Fires involving the combustible alkali metal are resistant to extinguishers
using water, gas or certain dry chemicals.
Transporting lithium metal aboard passenger aircraft is prohibited, but it may
be shipped on cargo aircraft if each package weighs less than 15 kilograms, the
NTSB said.
Since January 1989, six other air-transportation incidents involving lithium
batteries have been reported, the agency said.
In one case, the batteries were damaged, but there was no evidence of fire or
charring.
In the other five incidents, there was some evidence that the batteries had
caused fire or charring of the packaging.
Reporter Wayne Tompkins can be reached at (502) 582-4232.