September 18, 2013 - As a result of a fire
onboard an Ethiopian Airlines 787 (ET-AOP) back
in July in which it is believed that the fire
was caused by lithium-manganese dioxide
batteries which power the aircrafts emergency
locator transmitter (ELT) the FAA has issued an
Airworthiness Directive (AD).
The AD is identical to the August 26 Transport
Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) directive which
requires airlines to inspect Honeywell emergency
locator transmitters (ELTs) (RESCU406AFN ELT) by
January 14, 2014 to prevent an electrical short
and possible ignition source. The FAA AD has the
same deadline for the U.S. fleet and will impact
approximately 4,000 airplanes at a total cost of
approximately $325,720.
On July 12, 2013, a fire had started in the rear
of an
Ethiopian Airlines 787 parked at Heathrow
Airport, at the time there were no passengers
onboard. The fire caused extensive heat damage
to the aircraft.
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