I AM pleased to read that the lithium batteries in Boeing’s 787 may be safe according to the National Transportation Safety Board (“FAA to allow test flight of 787 today,” Business, Feb. 7). Well, we want to be sure about this, so here’s an idea: When and if the Federal Aviation Administration and the NTSB certify the batteries are safe, I would like NTSB chair Deborah Hersman and all the other muckety-mucks at NTSB and FAA to take a round-trip, nonstop flight to Japan in a 787. Upon their safe return, I would be more inclined to accept their conclusion.
Alan D. Hoch
Comments
You may have mis-read; Hersman was explaining the batteries are not "categorically" unsafe, but neither is she endorsing them. The NTSB doesn't seem to have an explanation much less a resolution of the battery problem yet, which is why only test flights are being approved for the moment. Further, your "test" wouldn't prove anything; no planes have crashed, even with the faulty design, so it's highly likely Hersman and the muckety-mucks would return safely, even if they or Boeing haven't solved the problem yet. What we _want_ is to understand the cause of the problem and for a fix to be developed; _then_ you can comfortably fly on a 787, regardless of whether Hersman flies on one.