NASA to help Boeing fix Dreamliner
NASA has agreed to provide technical assistance to help Boeing fix the 787 Dreamliner.
Following a call from US congressman Chaka Fattah, the US space agency said it would provide technical support to Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help resolve the battery problems that have grounded the B787 fleet.
Citing previous industrial intervention with Toyota, Fattah had written to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr, requesting that his team lend similar support to Boeing, as it investigates the electrical problems that have plagued the aircraft in recent weeks. Bolden informed Fattah yesterday that NASA was already in touch with Boeing, “to provide necessary technical support in their effort to resolve the recent Boeing 787 issue with the lithium-ion battery”.
“NASA has been there before, offering its technical expertise to help solve problems for American manufacturers in the aerospace and other industries,” Fattah said. “NASA is to be commended for seeing the need at Boeing and for responding quickly with its highly trained technicians and engineers to help return Dreamliners to the skies.”
This week the FAA team visited Boeing’s Japanese lithium-ion battery supplier, GS Yuasa Corp, as the investigation into the Dreamliner’s problems continues.