With Dreamliner Emergency, 'Prestige and Profit' Must Be Set
Aside (SakigakeShimbun,
Japan)
"Any airline that continues to use
these aircraft despite such reports and concerns is putting prestige and
profit before safety. Such airlines must take heed of these issues and
reconsider the importance of putting safety first. ... In
order to ensure passenger safety, even drastic measures such as changes in
design must be considered."
Confidence in the state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been shaken. That is because smoke emissions
have been detected on flight after flight. Many countries, including Japan and
the United States, have directed airlines to halt all flights of these planes,
an understandable step given the possibility of a major disaster. Some 35
percent of the 787 is made in Japan, bringing the risk of a decline in
confidence in Japanese technology as well, which makes a thorough investigation
into the cause of the problem even more urgent.
On January 16, a smoke emission incident occurred during an
All Nippon Airlines flight from Yamaguchi to Haneda
Airport. The plane made an emergency landing at Takamatsu Airport, and during
evacuation, three passengers were injured. The likelihood is growing that the
source of the problem is Japanese-made on board and peripheral lithium ion
batteries. Loss of aircraft control due to an onboard fire is a worst-case
scenario, and as the aircraft plunged downward for an emergency landing, the
burning smell in the cabin must have badly shaken passengers.
As of this month, there have been 7 successive incidents,
such as malfunctions with the braking system and fuel leaks, which began to be
reported in the fall of last year. And on January 9th, a burning battery was
reported in a JAL flight 7, as it sat on the tarmac at Boston’s Logan
International Airport.
The onboard lithium ion batteries removed from the 787 Dreamliner
which made an emergency landing in Japan at Takamatsu Airport on
January 16.
All during its development, the 787 has been plagued by
flaws, delaying its scheduled delivery by over three years. And it has been
pointed out that to avoid further delay, it was rushed to production, which has
led to this series of problems. Despite all this, the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism initially took the view that “these kinds
of initial problems are common in newly-built aircraft.” This response has
proven insufficient, and the ministry's stance taken on safety measures must
now be reexamined.
It cannot be denied that any airline that continues to use
these aircraft despite such reports and concerns is putting prestige and
profit before safety. Such airlines must take heed of these issues and
reconsider the importance of putting safety first.
Passengers evacuate a 787 Dreamliner at Japan's
Takamatsu
Airport, Jan. 16.
The 787 is a medium-sized aircraft with seats numbering in
the mid-200s that made its debut two years ago on two domestic routes. Its great
advantage is its light weight, thanks to a carbon fiber composite frame that
allows about 20 percent greater fuel efficiency under cruising conditions than
current models. On top of these additional fuel savings, its increased
efficiency makes it possible to use the plane on long-haul flights that could
previously be flown only by larger aircraft. Given these high expectations on
the part of airlines, the disturbance on this occasion is all the greater.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Both major domestic carriers, All Nippon Airlines and Japan
Airlines, hastened to bring the 787 into their fleets, and at the end of last
year, All Nippon announced that starting in March, it would be using the
aircraft for service between Akita and Haneda
airports. Both planned to use the 787 as their main aircraft, meaning that if
the suspension of 787 service drags on for the long term, the management
strategies of both companies will require extensive revision. And there are
fears that domestic suppliers of the plane's batteries, wings, and carbon fiber
composite materials, will be affected adversely.
But safety remains of paramount importance. Federal
investigators from the United States have come to Japan to examine the aircraft
that made the emergency landing, but Japan and U.S. aviation authorities,
Boeing, and the airlines concerned must work together closely to clarify the
cause of the problem and take remedial measures. In order to ensure passenger
safety, even drastic measures such as changes in design must be considered.
