NTSB Issues Recommendations on Lithium-Ion Batteries
Board calls for development of a practical thermal runaway test

The National Transportation Safety Board on May 22 issued five safety recommendations to the FAA related to the evaluation and certification of lithium-ion batteries, as well as the certification of new technology. The recommendations evolved through the ongoing investigation of a Jan. 7, 2013, lithium-ion battery fire aboard a Boeing 787 parked at Boston Logan Airport.

Investigators found that the battery showed evidence of not only thermal runaway but also of “unintended electrical interactions that occurred among the cells, the battery case and the electrical interfaces between the battery and the airplane.”