Air Line Pilots Association Seeks Ban on Lithium-ion Battery Shipments on Jetliners

Air Line Pilots Association Seeks Ban on Lithium-ion Battery Shipments on Jetliners

By Scott Doggett August 26, 2009

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

An airline pilots union is calling for a government ban on shipments of lithium batteries aboard passenger and all-cargo planes after a series of fires in recent years involving aircraft.

This development might have an adverse affect on electric vehicles and most hybrid vehicles because lithium batteries are widely regarded as the best type to propel the vehicles.

At the very least, reports of a link between lithium batteries and fires aboard aircraft won't help public perception that such batteries are safe.

In statement released Tuesday, the Air Line Pilots Association said that federal regulators have been slow to act on the issue and that "the evidence of a clear and present danger is mounting."

The ban would not apply to devices containing batteries brought aboard by passengers, but as you can read in the adjacent boxed text, there has been at least one instance of a passenger reporting that his laptop computer was emitting smoke.

Since March of last year, six fires have been reported on board passenger and cargo jets linked to lithium-based batteries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. None of the incidents resulted in deaths or serious injuries.

In a recent letter sent to Cynthia Douglass, acting deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Captain John Prater, head of the pilots' union, pointed to three recent incidents as proof positive of the urgent need to prohibit lithium-battery shipments.

During just the past two months, fire, smoke, or evidence of fire associated with battery shipments has occurred aboard three separate U.S. airliners, he wrote in the letter.

The incidents, which took place in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Honolulu, Hawaii, were similar to a 2006 battery fire aboard a DC-8 in Philadelphia, he wrote.

In that accident, the fire was severe and it prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to recommend the full regulation of these types of batteries as dangerous goods.

As most of us know, lithium batteries provide power for millions of Americans every day as they are used in laptop computers, cell phones, flashlights and cameras, as well as plug-in electric vehicles made by Tesla Motors and upcoming models by GM, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, and perhaps, Chrysler.

The pilots' union has long advocated for improved transport requirements for lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries. Since 2004, it has urged the Department of Transportation to fully regulate these batteries as dangerous goods, including requiring appropriate packaging, labeling, marking, testing and pilot notification.

In an article appearing in today's USA Today, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown was quoted as saying the government does not see a need for an emergency ban on lithium battery shipments, because strict rules are being drafted.

"We're monitoring the situation," Brown said. "We understand there have been incidents."

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.