FAA wants Dreamliner transmitters inspected
Source: AP-Excite
By JOAN LOWY and JOSHUA FREED
WASHINGTON (AP) - Airlines should inspect the emergency locator transmitters of all Boeing 787 "Dreamliners," the Federal Aviation Administration urged Friday following a fire earlier in the week aboard one of the airliners while parked at London's Heathrow Airport.
British aviation authorities, who are investigating the fire on an Ethiopian Airlines 787, have said the transmitters should be disabled after finding that one of the squat orange boxes was the only thing with enough power to start a fire in the plane's tail section, which was scorched.
The FAA made no mention Friday of disabling the transmitters in a brief statement provided to the media. Instead, the agency said that after reviewing the British investigators' recommendations, U.S. officials have begun working with Boeing to develop instructions for how airlines should conduct the inspections.
The inspections would ask airlines to examine transmitters for proper wire routing and damaged or pinched wires, the statement said. The transmitter's lithium battery compartment would be inspected for heat or moisture.
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In this July 12, 2013, photo, a general view of the Air Ethiopian Boeing 787 Dreamliner 'Queen of Sheba' plane on the runway near Terminal 3, at Heathrow Airport, London. U.S. aviation officials say they want the emergency locator transmitters on all Boeing 787 “Dreamliners” inspected following a fire aboard the Queen of Sheba that was parked at London’s Heathrow Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration said late Friday that after reviewing recommendations by British accident investigators, the agency is working with Boeing to develop instructions for airlines on how to conduct the inspections. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)
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