NTSB Probes Laptop Batteries in Jet Fire
By KIMBERLY HEFLING Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Did laptop batteries aboard a UPS cargo plane ignite,
causing the aircraft to catch fire?
The National Transportation Safety Board began looking into the
question at a hearing Wednesday.
All three crew members on the plane were treated for minor injuries
after it made an emergency landing shortly after midnight Feb. 8 at
Philadelphia International Airport.
Several other incidents have occurred in recent years in which
lithium batteries _ used in laptops and cell phones _ have caught
fire aboard airplanes.
Less than two months ago in Chicago, a spare laptop battery packed
in a bag stored in an overhead bin started emitting smoke, chief
crash investigator Frank Hilldrup of the NTSB testified
Wednesday.
A flight attendant used an extinguisher and the bag was removed,
but the bag caught fire on a ramp, Hilldrup said.
Investigators in the Philadelphia fire found that several computer
laptop batteries were on board the plane, and that in many cases
portions of the laptop batteries had burned, he said.
"It is not known at this time the role these batteries may have
played in the fire," Hilldrup said.
Lithium ion batteries are sometimes referred to as "rechargeable"
or "secondary" lithium batteries. They, along with primary or
"non-rechargeable" lithium batteries, can present fire hazards
because of the heat often generated when they are damaged or suffer
a short circuit.
It is expected to take several months for the NTSB to reach a
conclusion about the cause of the fire in Philadelphia, although
several hazardous materials on board the plane have been determined
not to be the cause. The NTSB is also examining other related
issues, such as what can be done to make cargo flights safer and
the overall emergency response to the incident.
In 1999, a shipment of lithium batteries ignited after it was
unloaded from a passenger jet at Los Angeles International Airport.
Another shipment erupted into flames in Memphis in 2004 when it was
being loaded onto a FedEx plane bound for Paris.
In the case of the UPS cargo plane, the crew declared an emergency
on approach into Philadelphia. Fire and rescue crews met the
four-engine jet, a DC-8 that originated in Atlanta, when it touched
down shortly after midnight.
Firefighters said the blaze was under control about four hours
later, although the charred plane smoldered for hours.