B787 Experimental - ETOPS problemer

Safety protest seeks to block Boeing 787 ETOPS   Two passenger advocacy groups are demanding the US government limits flights on the controversial new Boeing 787 until the safety of its lithium-ion batteries is proven.   FlyersRights.org and the Aviation Consumer Action Project are petitioning the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) for a two-hour limit from the nearest airport for the safety of passengers and crew.   The Boeing 787, an advanced technology twin engine airliner made of lightweight composite materials with a range of over 9,000 miles, was certified to fly up to three hours from the nearest airport in 2011 by the FAA, based on Boeing testing and safety assurances. But the FAA grounded the entire 787 fleet in January 2013 after a battery fire on one 787 and smoke on another.   "Our proposed actions are both urgent and necessary," said attorney Paul Hudson, leader of both organisations and a prominent aviation-safety advocate for 25 years.   "The 787 lithium ion batteries have a long history of overheating, catching fire, even exploding. This could easily bring down an airliner, especially if it was not within easy reach of an airport for an emergency landing," Hudson said. "Such batteries have been labeled as hazardous by the FAA and banned from being carried as cargo on most passenger jets. In one year of operations of 52,000 hours there have been several 787 battery failures versus one for every 10 million hours of predicted by Boeing. Adequate testing of the batteries haven't been done and the fire investigation is not finished,"  he added.   Limiting the 787 to flights within two hours of the nearest airport would ban 787 trans-Pacific flights, flights over the North Pole. Flights between the US and Europe over the north Atlantic and flights over land would not be affected by a two-hour limit. Losing extended operations, or ETOPS, would deal a blow to Boeing and its airline customers by limiting use of the fuel-saving jet, designed to lower costs on long-distance routes that don't require the capacity of the larger aircraft.