ANA welcomes JCAB announcement for Dreamliner

TOKYO - ANA is pleased that the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) has issued a revised Technical Circular Directive for the 787, enabling us to begin preparations to return ANA’s Dreamliner fleet to service.

ANA is currently working with five Boeing support teams to retrofit new systems on its seventeen 787 aircraft. This involves replacing existing batteries with new batteries, changing to new battery chargers and installing new battery containment boxes and venting system. The improvements will require approximately one week per aircraft, with work on all seventeen aircraft scheduled to be completed by the end of May.

In addition to these modifications, ANA will be undertaking additional checks and tests to ensure the safety of its aircraft and peace of mind of its passengers. These measures are outlined below:

   Proving flights: Every 787 aircraft in ANA’s fleet will undergo a proving flight upon completion of the battery improvement work. First Proving flight will fly on 28 April, departing and returning to Haneda to confirm that no battery related failures occur during flight.
   Confirmation of battery improvements: After the batteries have been in use for a specified period of time, a sample of batteries will be removed for inspection to verify that the battery improvements are effective.
    Battery monitoring: Battery monitoring systems will also be installed on all 787’s to monitor battery performance.
   Cockpit crew training: Cockpit crews assigned to the 787 aircraft are scheduled to undergo extensive hands-on flight training (approximately 230 flights) with actual aircraft and also to use 787 flight simulators before serving on scheduled commercial flights.
    Disclosure of progress: To enable passengers to use the 787 aircraft with confidence, ANA has set up a dedicated website for providing information to the public about the progress of the aircraft’s retrofitting and other safety and certification initiatives.

ANA plans to announce a schedule for resumption of commercial flights using the 787 aircraft once all necessary preparations are completed, and a review of seasonal flight schedules and other issues has been conducted.

ANA will continue to fully cooperate with the Japan Transport Safety Board in its investigation into the cause of the serious incident involving Flight 692.

Osamu Shinobe, President and CEO of ANA said “ANA’s priority is to ensure the safety of our passengers. We are pleased that the FAA and JCAB are satisfied with Boeing’s plans to address the battery issues on the 787 aircraft and we are working closely with Boeing and our own engineers to undertake these improvements. Only when we are fully satisfied with the safety of our 787 fleet will we return the aircraft to service.”

Sourced: TravelDailyNews