FAA warns airlines of explosion risk in lithium batteries

Washington (AFP )-
The Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines Tuesday that lithium batteries transported as cargo could cause catastrophic fires or explosions.
The FAA says commercial passenger and cargo airlines should conduct safety risk assessments if they handle or transport lithium batteries as goods.
\"The FAA battery fire test highlights the potential risk of catastrophic aircraft losses due to damage caused by a lithium battery fire or explosion,\" the agency said . \".
\"The current cargo fire fighting system is not able to effectively control the lithium battery fire.
\"Scientists have long known about the explosion of lithium-ion batteries, which are being used by more and more rechargeable consumer products, including mobile phones, power tools, Tesla cars and the latest rage, hoverboards.
They are also increasingly used in industrial machinery and equipment.
In 2013, Boeing\'s 787 global fleet of lithium-ion batteries on one plane caught fire and stopped flying for months after smoking on another.
Passenger carriers have been banned from carrying lithium-ion batteries as cargo due to fire risks, and some passenger carriers have decided not to carry lithium-ion batteries as cargo, the FAA said.
The agency said the risk assessment proposal was for airlines that still carry lithium-ion batteries and helped other airlines avoid inadvertently carrying lithium-ion batteries.
At the same time, the International Association of aviation line pilots said that the United States needs to classify lithium-ion batteries as \"hazardous materials\" to ensure that more safety precautions are taken during transportation.
A study by the team pointed out that two catastrophic fires occurred on the aircraft, one in 2006 and the other in 2010, which appeared to be related to a large number of lithium batteries.
According to current regulations, \"thousands of batteries can still be transported without the crew knowing the potential risks,\" the organization said on its website.