Boeing Completes First 787 Test Flight Following Battery Investigation

It's been quite a dramatic beginning for the 787 Dreamliner, probably one that Boeing and the airlines weren't hoping for, but reoccurring failures to the lithium-ion batteries in several 787 aircrafts resulted in the entire fleet getting ground in order to investigate the issue. However, after a few weeks of investigating and troubleshooting, Boeing has completed its first flight of the 787 following the grounding.

According to Reuters, Boeing said that the test flight was "uneventful," meaning that the two-hour flight didn't experience any problems, and the lithium-ion batteries seemed to hold up. The plane took off from and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle, WA, and the test crew on board were there to collect detailed information on the batteries while in-flight.

In the meantime, Boeing is redesigning the batteries as a temporary fix until a permanent solution is thought up. While a "temporary fix" might make some flyers queazy, Boeing notes that numerous tests will be run to make sure the redesigned batteries are in 100% working order before they put the planes back up in the air.

It doesn't look like Boeing will be doing any test flights today, but it's guaranteed that the company will be conducting numerous test flights over the next few weeks to get to the bottom of the issue. The battery problem has cost airlines tens of millions of dollars, and that number may continue to increase as long as the birds are left on the ground.

[via Reuters]