Boeing Halts Delivery of Dreamliners

In the wake of all the problems that Chicago-based 787 Dreamliners have experienced in the past few weeks, aircraft maker Boeing announced Friday (1/18/13) that it will halt the delivery of the troubled new, high-tech jet until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides guidance on how to make its batteries compliant. In a statement, a Boeing spokesman said, “We will not deliver 787s until the FAA approves a means of compliance with their recent Airworthiness Directive concerning batteries and the approved approach has been implemented.” The lithium ion batteries that even have been found to overheat in computers has been creating bigger problems in the aircraft where they are being used for the first time. The overheating has led sometimes to smoke, fire and even forced an emergency landing in one aircraft in Japan. Although the production of the plane is not stopping, Boeing representatives said they want to make sure that the aircraft’s electrical systems are in full compliance before delivery of any more aircraft. The planes are assembled at plants in Everett, Washington, and North Charleston, South Carolina, with parts that are manufactured from around the world. The FAA has not said how long it will take them to fix the battery system that Boeing has said is a fuel saver of older jets running on different technology.