Batteries & flightsNTSB issues safety recommendations for on-flight lithium batteries

Published 10 February 2016

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued two safety recommendations Tuesday physically separate lithium batteries from other flammable hazardous materials stowed on cargo aircraft and to establish maximum loading density requirements which restrict the quantities of lithium batteries and flammable hazardous materials.

burned auxiliary power unit battery from a JAL Boeing 787 that caught fire // Source: commons.wikimedia.org

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued two safety recommendations Tuesday physically separate lithium batteries from other flammable hazardous materials stowed on cargo aircraft and to establish maximum loading density requirements which restrict the quantities of lithium batteries and flammable hazardous materials.

The NTSB says that these safety recommendations, addressed to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), are derived from the investigation of the 28 July 2011, in-flight fire and crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 991 in international waters about eighty miles west of Jeju International Airport. The NTSB participated in the investigation, headed by the Republic of Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board.

Lithium batteries carried as cargo can be:

  • A fire and explosion ignition source
  • A source of fuel to an existing fire
  • Subjected to overheating that can create an explosive condition.

“The National Transportation Safety Board urges the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to take action on these safety recommendations to reduce the likelihood and severity of potential cargo fires and to provide additional time for the crew to safely land a cargo aircraft in the event a fire is detected,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart.

PHMSA generally cannot issue regulations or enforce requirements for the safe transportation of lithium cells and batteries that are more restrictive than international regulations. But Congress has given PHMSA authority to do so if it finds credible evidence of a deficiency in the international regulations that has substantially contributed to the start or spread of an on-board fire. The NTSB said it strongly believes the circumstances and findings in the Asiana Flight 991 accident show the need for new cargo segregation and loading density requirements.