August 6, 2014 - While hundreds of thousands of lithium batteries are shipped on cargo aircraft every day, safety and the potential fire hazards associated with the carriage of these highly combustible items have not been sufficiently addressed by U.S. regulators. Today during ALPA’s Air Safety Forum, First Officer Mark Rogers (UAL), director of ALPA’s Dangerous Goods Program, moderated a panel discussion to examine “Surviving a Main Deck Lithium Battery Fire: New Technologies and Solutions.” Panelists discussed looking beyond today’s regulations to emerging technologies that can mitigate this serious threat.

Allowable cargo volumes are part of the problem. Rogers noted, “You never have an airplane filled with flammable liquids, but we have cases today where an airplane will leave an airport in China filled almost entirely with lithium batteries.” He added that last year more than 6 billion cells were produced, and projections suggest that production will continue to increase. Rogers elaborated on the characteristics of lithium batteries that make them unique from other dangerous goods and how technological applications must address these issues to be effective.

Harry Webster from the FAA’s Fire Safety Branch pointed out that the ignition of a single battery produces enough heat to ignite adjacent batteries, and that Halon 1301, popular for extinguishing fires, can be ineffective in suppressing lithium battery fires. Webster talked about full-scale fire tests conducted by the agency using a B-727 donated by FedEx Express. The aircraft was configured to simulate the internal airflows of flight, and tests were conducted in both the Class E main deck and the Class C below deck compartments.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is responsible for regulating the transportation of lithium batteries, including their packaging, to mitigate safety concerns. Jonathon Green, president of AkroFire, Inc., a company that specializes in the development of fire and thermal management solutions for aviation, discussed PHSMA Rule HM-224B and its current parameters for packaging to prevent flame propagation. Green said that protecting batteries from fire and heat and protecting adjacent shipments from thermal runaway are primary focuses for his organization.

“Our business model has changed,” said Capt. Bob Brown (UPS), a member of the Independent Pilots Association Safety Task Force, talking about how his airline is adjusting to the growing demand for lithium battery shipments. He spoke about the tools UPS is using in the cockpit, including full-face oxygen masks and emergency vision assurance systems (EVAS). UPS also uses fire containment covers for energy shipments and any unknown palletized freight. Brown noted that UPS is in the process of developing special unit load devices (ULDs) with suppression systems, but more work is needed. “These cargo fires can become survivable events,” he said.

Capt. Rich Hughey (FDX), who chairs ALPA’s President’s Committee for Cargo, advocated for a layered approach to safety concerns, reviewing some of the features his airline has implemented. Hughey flies the MD-11, which uses a device that has characteristics similar to the NFL “Skycam,” which gives television viewers a closer perspective of football games. Using a ceiling-mounted support structure, the fire suppression system travels the length of the cargo deck and, when it senses a fire, autonomously punctures the heat-emitting unit load device and puts inert gas and foam into it to smother the flames. The system helps give the crew invaluable time to assess the situation and get the aircraft safely on the ground. “This is a good safety technology layer, not a silver bullet,” he said, stressing that not all fires have the same characteristics, and the system can only be used on a single fire location on each flight.