Ethiopean 787 fire at Heathrow

[DWS]

Aviation week article

has a few great articles on this issue

1) fire did NOT burn thru airframe- but claims aluminum section would have been weakened more and possibly failed
2) Boeing is planning on fixing - several possiblities in work patch to ferry, replace aft section, etc
Issue will be out monday- but those who have subscription can access via zinio

partial quote via ocr
....Insiders also quietly note that the
composite structure heldup well to the
fire. Compared to conventional aircraftthickness
aluminum, for which FAA
tests have shown burn-through timesof
30-60 sec. in intense fires, Boeing flame
tests exhibited longer burn-through
times for sections representative of
the 787's composite laminate skin. The
aircraft maker also points out that although
the fire was severe enough to
visibly char the exterior of the skin, the
fire did not penetrate the surface."

"This is the largest incident that I
have seen as far as damage from heat
and fire," says Paul Jonas, director of
environmental test labs and special programs
at the National Institute for Aviation
Research at Wichita State University,
"This is a significant event. It does
look like a lot of heating." He estimates
that fire temperatures may have been in
the 1,000-1,200F range to cause the type
of paint damage seen in photographs of
the scene. "Composites are pretty much
self-extinguishing. If you put flame on
and take it off, it doesn't propagate."

I will not copy more