Topic: another Boeing 787 fire

[Glock32]

Been a bad stretch of months for Boeing so far this year.  The 777 crash last weekend (which is all on the pilots, but the plane will invariably take some of the public's blame), and now another 787 fire, this time at London-Heathrow.  Boeing's share price has already dropped 7% since the fire today.

They're going to have some trouble if they can't restore the perception of the 787.  They've put a lot of eggs in that basket.

[warpmine]

High quality union labor? They bitched that union labor is superior.....
Design flaw probably. Remember reading and hearing about the B-29 engine over heating difficulties. perhaps more of the same.

[Pandora]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-12/london-heathrow-suspends-flights-after-fire-involving-boeing-787.html

Ethiopian Air said the aircraft had been parked at Heathrow for more than eight hours before smoke was detected. “The cause of the incident is under investigation by all concerned,” Henok Teferra, a spokesman for the carrier, said in a text message.

TV images appear to show that the fire damage is close to the crew-rest area and well away from the location of lithium-ion batteries mounted in the middle and front of the plane, analysts at Bernstein Research including Douglas Harned said in a note. Flaws with those cells grounded the model on Jan. 16.

[Libertas]

Sitting on the ground for 8 hours...in a nation overrun with whackjobs invited in by and pandered to by their ruling class...

[Alphabet Soup]

High quality union labor? They bitched that union labor is superior.....
Design flaw probably. Remember reading and hearing about the B-29 engine over heating difficulties. perhaps more of the same.

I had a father and three brothers work for the Lazy-B. Once upon a time I might have taken offense at the inference of poor labor but it isn't the same company that my father worked for so many years. Not any more.

[Libertas]

There may be something to that, but in this case one cannot rule out intentional act, not that this is in conflict with your statement in this situation in jolly 'ol England.

[Glock32]

At this stage it appears to be unrelated to the battery problems that have plagued the 787: http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/Boeing%20787-8%20ET-AOP%20Press%20Release.pdf

Might that actually be a worse thing for Boeing? It could encourage the perception that the whole thing is a nest of potential gremlins.

[warpmine]

At this stage it appears to be unrelated to the battery problems that have plagued the 787: http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/Boeing%20787-8%20ET-AOP%20Press%20Release.pdf

Might that actually be a worse thing for Boeing? It could encourage the perception that the whole thing is a nest of potential gremlins.

The B-47 had similar problems that led to bad publicity. It's just so new and there really hasn't been enough shakedown for the plane. Just growing pains. These are airplanes folks and it takes time for the little things to get sorted out. Remember the DC-10 that dropped and engine during the 80's?

[Glock32]

Latest reports from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in the UK indicate the likely cause of the fire was the plane's emergency locator transmitter, which is housed in that area of the plane. They have for the time being recommended other aircraft switch off this component (which is also used in aircraft besides the 787).

Kind of ironic that the device that's supposed to help rescuers and salvage crews locate a downed aircraft could in fact be responsible for making one go down in the first place.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23364389