Dreamliner Test Flight Reveals the Fix is Likely in Place

A Boeing Co. BA 787 Dreamliner flew for two hours Monday in a test flight aimed at showing that the new battery system is safe. According to The Associated Press,the company said everything went “according to plan.”

The main fix, previously reported by Wired, consisted of added insulation around battery cells, a steel casing to prevent fires, and a combination pressure release disc, and venting system designed to remove gases in the event of a rupture to any of the battery’s cells.

If analysis showed that Monday’s test flight went well, Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel told Reuters that the company expects to be allowed to proceed with a second flight test "in coming days" to gather data to be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration to certify the new battery system.

Birtel told NBC News that the crew cycled the landing gear and operated all the backup systems during Monday’s flight. This was “in addition to performing complete electrical system checks from the flight profile," Birtel said in a statement.

Birtel indicated that Boeing hopes to get 787s flying again within weeks, not months. That decision, however, will be made by regulators in the U.S., Japan, and elsewhere according to the AP.

Resuming flights would be a welcome relief for Boeing. The company is losing an estimated $50 million a week while the 787 is grounded according to NBC News. Airlines that own the planes, but are barred from using them are also suffering.

Although some Boeing officials have said the jet could be back in service by May 1, Oliver McGee, an aerospace and mechanical engineer who served as deputy assistant secretary of transportation under President Bill Clinton, told Reuters he was skeptical that regulators would allow service to resume so soon.

Others, like John Goglia, a former NTSB board member, are more optimistic. Goglia says he expects the steel containment box to work as expected and that the plane could return to service in April.

"I will give the Boeing engineers the benefit of the doubt that they have designed a box that will handle what the battery can give it," he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has set a two-day forum for April 11-12 to examine the design and performance of lithium-ion batteries in transportation. In addition, the NTSB plans to hold a separate hearing on the 787 battery sometime later in April.

Boeing shares were up slightly in trading Monday and closed at $84.85.