The Boeing Company (BA) Proposing Long-Term Fix for 787 Batteries

Among the many unanswered questions is how the 787 battery problems will affect Boeing’s effort to win FAA permission for the planes to make flights that venture further from the nearest airport, such as those that travel over wide expanses of ocean. The FAA has tighter requirements for such flights in twin-engine planes because it wants to make sure the plane can keep flying if it loses an engine or encounters other problems far away from a safe landing.

Until it was grounded, the 787 could fly up to three hours away from the nearest airport. That’s far enough for flights between the U.S. and Europe and some flights over the Arctic, for instance. But Boeing wants permission for flights up to 5.5 hours from the nearest airport. Its 777 is already certified for such flights.

Boeing said last month that it was close to submitting a plan for those longer flights.

The article Boeing Proposing Long-Term Fix for 787 Batteries originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Associated Press.

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