Dreamliner

A month into investigating a fire that broke out on Boeing Co.'s grounded 787 Dreamliner passenger jets, the National Transportation Safety Board said it found a short-circuit in one of the aircraft's lithium ion batteries and even traced it to a specific cell, but still doesn't have a cause. Speaking to reporters Thursday from Washington, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said the agency hasn't reached a conclusion on the cause of the fire that occurred in Boston on Jan. 7. But investigators have been “working around the clock to learn about what happened and why.” The lithium-ion battery system on the 787 is a cluster of eight individual cells packaged together in one box. Hersman said that all mechanical damage to the cells and the battery case occurred after the short-circuiting in Cell No. 6. FULL COVERAGE: Boeing's troubled Dreamliner The battery then experienced “thermal runaway,” a chain reaction in which heat spreads rapidly from cell to cell.

Despite Boeing's strenuous efforts to reduce the 787 Dreamliner's weight, the plane weighed more than expected when it first rolled out two years ago. Days before the plane's maiden flight last week, Boeing published a document for airlines that suggests to some weight-watching industry analysts that the 787 still exceeds its original target weight by a few tons. Airlines have ordered 840 of the pioneering composite-plastic planes based on Boeing's projections for its range, payload and fuel efficiency -- all reduced by added weight.

Aerospace giant Boeing Co. has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to let it begin test flights on its grounded 787 Dreamliner passenger jet. The new plane has been grounded since Jan. 16 by the FAA because of numerous incidents and high-profile fires involving the onboard lithium-ion batteries. Investigators around the world are looking into the matter. The company disclosed its request for in-flight testing Monday in an email. “Boeing has submitted an application to conduct test flights, and it is currently under evaluation by the FAA,” said Marc Birtel, a company spokesman, who would not comment further.

At long last, Boeing Co.'s first 787 Dreamliner is set to be delivered Monday to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways Co., ending the anticipation among aviation enthusiasts who thought this day might never come. A celebration of the first delivery will be held Monday in Everett, Wash. A webcast and live satellite feed will include special activities at the Boeing's plant there with Boeing and All Nippon's employees and executives. The first passenger flight is scheduled for Oct. 26. Once expected by May 2008, delivery has been delayed several times, and passenger-ready planes are now expected on the runway by fall.

The Dreamliner, with passengers, has finally landed. United Airlines landed its inaugural domestic flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft Sunday morning at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, becoming the first U.S. carrier to fly the composite-plastic-fuselage aircraft. The twin-aisle plane, delayed more than three years by production problems at Boeing Co., was designed to be about 20% more fuel efficient and less costly to maintain than similar-size planes. Half the plane is made of strong and light composite materials, including the fuselage and wings, instead of metal.

Marian Burkhart was looking forward to traveling on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. She and her husband settled into their seats, picked a movie and waited for what she called the "Taj Mahal plane" to take them from Houston to Los Angeles. Then the pilot came on the intercom with surprising news: All passengers had to get off the plane because federal regulators had grounded the so-called aircraft of the future, concerned by fires caused by its electronics system. Burkhart, 48, now isn't sure whether she'll fly on a 787. "It's a beautiful plane ... but I would wait awhile," she said, moments after arriving in Los Angeles on an older airplane.

Though a month of investigating the grounded Boeing Co. Dreamliner 787 passenger jet and its fire-prone batteries has turned up clues, federal officials reported that the cause of the problem remains a mystery. Meanwhile, airlines have made other arrangements for passengers for the foreseeable future as its 787s are grounded and the battery issue is investigated. Speaking to reporters Thursday from Washington, National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said investigators found a short-circuit in a lithium-ion battery on one aircraft and even traced it to a specific cell, but they didn't yet determine the root cause.

Boeing Co. said Tuesday that its star-crossed 787 Dreamliner had another setback that will again delay its first flight and first delivery. The Dreamliner, already running about two years late, was due to take wing by next week. However, those plans are on hold after Chicago-based Boeing discovered in testing the aircraft's structure last month that it needed to reinforce areas where the wings are joined with the main fuselage.

Boeing Co. got a $5.3-billion boost from banned state and federal government subsidies to develop its 787 Dreamliner and other commercial aircraft, a World Trade Organization panel found. The ruling Thursday was hailed by the European Commission and helped even the score in the messy and long-running trade dispute between the United States and the European Union over government funding of airliner development, a major source of exports on both continents. U.S. officials also were upbeat because only half the aid questioned by the WTO, or $2.7 billion, was deemed impermissible, meaning it will eventually have to be withdrawn or otherwise remedied.