Safety precautions: Boeing suspends 787 deliveries

WASHINGTON: The American aerospace giant Boeing halted deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner on Friday but said it will continue to build the aircraft while safety experts examine its battery and electrical systems.

The announcement capped a week in which all 50 787s in service around the world were grounded on orders from multiple aviation authorities to investigate the cause of two incidents, including a fire, linked to its batteries.

“We will not deliver 787s until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approves a means of compliance with their recent Airworthiness Directive concerning batteries and the approved approach has been implemented,” a Boeing spokesperson said. “Production of 787s continues,” he said.

Dreamliners had been flying in Chile, Ethiopia, India, Japan, Poland, Qatar and the US until their flights were stopped after a global alert issued by the FAA. No airline has canceled purchases for the 787, but with 850 of the ambitious $200 million-plus aircraft on order, a fortune is at stake.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2013.

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