Cellphones’ lithium batteries are safety concern John Cox
Q: Captain, regarding the recent incident on a Southwest flight bound from Louisville to Baltimore involving a smoking cellphone, what should people know about fires aboard airliners?
— George, Tucson
A: Lithium battery fires are an increasing risk, as the number of batteries on every flight increases. Compounding the con- cern is the fact training and guidance to the crews is not consistent. This is a subject the industry is working on, but progress has been slow. I hope the needed improvements can be made quickly and effectively.
An airborne lithium battery fire is very serious.
Crew members need to be adequately trained, provided with protective equipment to ensure they are not injured when dealing with a battery fire and the means to safely capture and contain the device.
Q: Why is shipping lithiumion batteries considered dangerous, yet almost all passengers have cellphones with them? What’s the difference?
— Deegan, Santa Rosa, Calif.
A: A lithium battery installed in a device is less likely to enter thermal runaway and, if it does, there are few batteries nearby to be driven into thermal runaway. Shipping lithium batteries on passenger aircraft poses a risk that is higher than many operators find acceptable because of the rapid expansion of a fire.
Q: Some manufacturers tout that their new planes are made from nearly 50% carbon composite materials. I am concerned about fire fanned by a 400-knot slipstream in a plane made of a combustible substance, i.e. carbon. Has the FAA or NASA done any testing in these conditions? — David Mayer, Plano, Texas
A: There has been testing done by the FAA and several other countries to ensure composite materials are equally safe as aluminum alloys. Additionally, there is a close review of any fire events on composite aircraft to ensure the testing was representative of actual events.
The Royal Aeronautical Society published Smoke and Fire in
Transport Aircraft in 2007, with updates in 2013 and 2014. Within that document is detailed information regarding composite aircraft safety.