Premium on Safety - Issue 39, 2020 - 9
FOCUS POINT
When a lithium battery suffers a thermal runaway in an inaccessible baggage area, the consequences can be catastrophic.
Flying With Fire
For pilots unprepared, lithium-powered PEDs can be an inextinguishable candle
BY SCOTT SPANGLER
Second only to catastrophic structural failure, in-flight fire is every
aviator's worst nightmare. What many may not realize is that they
bring aboard at least one, but probably two, potential fire starters
on every flight. One is in their pocket and the other in their flight
bag. And then there are the lithium-powered personal electronic
devices (PEDs) brought aboard by their passengers.
The FAA Battery Incident Chart tabulates 268 " air/airport events
with smoke, fire, extreme heat, or explosion involving lithium
batteries " since January 23, 2006. One of the most recent was
an " E-cigarette " and spare batteries that set fire to an airline
passenger's bag as it was on the conveyer to the Indianapolis
baggage sort room on January 14, 2020.
Thermal runaway fires are in a class by themselves, and for pilots
unprepared, extinguishing them is like blowing on trick birthday
candles burning at 1,000°F. FAA Safety Alert for Operations
(SAFO) 09013, Fighting Fires Caused by Lithium Type Batteries in
Portable Electronic Devices, says disposable lithium batteries and
rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are " both capable of ignition
and explosion due to overheating. "
Lithium cells become dangerous when their internal temperatures
reach 350°F, the threshold of a thermal runaway, explained
an FAA handheld fire extinguisher training video. As the cell
overpressures, it releases flammable liquid electrolyte, and as the
cells burn, they may explode, as the video of a burning laptop did
in a LAX terminal.
Built from layers of reactive metals and compounds, rechargeable
lithium ion (Li-io) and lithium polymer (Li-po) batteries are the
portable power of choice for the 21st century, said Thomas
FAA TV: LITHIUM BATTERIES: GUIDANCE FOR CREW
The video explains the specific responsibilities of flight and cabin crew concerning the
safe carriage of lithium batteries and emergency response actions.
9
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