Korean investigators have revealed only 18min elapsed between detection of fire on board an Asiana Airlines Boeing 747-400F, and the fatal loss of the aircraft in the sea. But while the inquiry has disclosed more details of the dangerous cargo on board the aircraft, it has yet to reach conclusions over the origin of the fire. (www.flightglobal.com) More...
If it walks and quacks like a duck, it probably is one. I don't know how many lithium ion batteries move daily/weekly but this makes 2 fires in as many years that have brought a plane down and being cargo especially, pilots can do absolutely nothing. Something is being missed somewhere. This just seems to be a little more than coincidence.
I think there was one before the Dubai incident, also involving a UPS freighter. That's why the USPS and APO will no longer ship items containg lithium batteries,
Lithium ion batteries are also among the items prohibited from being placed in checked baggage in the United States. Airlines are supposed to dispose of them as HAZMAT.
Well, realistcally speaking, they have to be transported, but as I said earlier, we seem to be missing something in that transport. We need to find out what it is and correct it. It can no longer be chalked off to coincidence.
