US Bans Cargo Shipments of Lithium-Ion Batteries on Passenger Planes

Megalith

Megalith

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To strengthen safety for the traveling public, the US Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have opted to prohibit the transport of lithium ion cells or batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft. “PHMSA is enhancing passenger safety by permitting personal electronic devices onboard aircraft while ensuring cargo shipments of batteries are transported separately,” said PHMSA Administrator Howard “Skip” Elliott.

The FAA has been pushing airlines to reconsider carrying batteries due to the potential fire risk, and the ban theoretically reduces the chances that an incident will put travelers in danger. The cargo ban will mainly affect people who order batteries. You'll likely still get your orders, but they may have to wait for dedicated cargo flights. The battery charge requirement may be another matter. It could mark an end to the days of receiving phones and other gadgets with near-full charges -- you'll probably need to top them up first.
 
Honestly surprised that this wasn't a thing earlier. (On 2nd thought, it is the US government we are talking about, so not that surprised.)
 
Remember when the 787 was grounded for awhile because their batteries were catching on fire...
 
gtrguy said:
So how many planes have been brought down due to all these years of lithium ion battery shipments?
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Well quick google search shows in 2017 at least 17 battery explosions, 46 "incidents" involving batteries.. whatever those are. Probably small fires, smoke, etc.. Considering these planes carry quite a few people, I would say it's worth it regardless of how many planes have been "brought down".



I would go a step further and install fire boxes all through the plane. No clue.. they may already have some.
Either make people store them or at the very least have them to throw a burning device into. Again they may already be in place on planes. I honestly don't know.

If you've ever worked on phones for a living you know how out of hand they can randomly get and quick. I've been chugging right along before and look over and something starts smoking. Out the back door or into the box with it.
 
msshammy said:
Well quick google search shows in 2017 at least 17 battery explosions, 46 "incidents" involving batteries.. whatever those are. Probably small fires, smoke, etc..
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And I'll bet every one of those was a battery in a device (probably a phone) and not a shipment of newly manufactured batteries. But I could certainly be wrong.
 
DedEmbryonicCe11 said:
It must be nice to not care about a tragedy until it's actually happened. Is your logic really, "Oh hundreds of people could die a fiery death? Well it hasn't happened yet so no big deal.."?!
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You're putting words in my mouth. Thanks.
 
DedEmbryonicCe11 said:
It must be nice to not care about a tragedy until it's actually happened. Is your logic really, "Oh hundreds of people could die a fiery death? Well it hasn't happened yet so no big deal.."?!
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To be fair cargo planes are generally 3-4 people, and there are generally limits on commercial planes where you can store batteries (carry one vs storage). Carry the correct extinguisher or chemicals to deal with cabin issues and ban people from the airline who stores battery based products in their suitcase.
 
To Clarify:

This banned the transportation of Lithium Ion batteries on PASSENGER AIRCRAFT as cargo. It does not ban the transportation of Lithium Ion batteries as cargo on cargo aircraft, or Lithium Ion batteries carried onto passenger aircraft by passengers.

Often, airlines will sell out cargo space inside of passenger aircraft to increase revenue.
 
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I'm all for not flying in a hindenburg, even if it makes my batteries cost a little more to ship.

I'm sure we don't send live grenades as extra cargo in passenger planes so this policy makes sense.
 
Very lame as someone who has put his work tools in a pelican case and had to fly everywhere.
 
Penguincomp said:
Very lame as someone who has put his work tools in a pelican case and had to fly everywhere.
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This does not effect you in any way. Again they are talking about commercial battery shipments not checked bags. If I recall though you aren't supposed to be putting li-on batteries in your checked bag anyway, those go in your carry on.
 
msshammy said:
Well quick google search shows in 2017 at least 17 battery explosions, 46 "incidents" involving batteries.. whatever those are. Probably small fires, smoke, etc..
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The one from the guy biting the phone is still my favorite

 
My daughter @ college in Vancouver BC, we had to send her a new phone (Michigan)... holy shit was it a pain in the ass... then it got flagged in BC.. luckily an employee corresponded with my wife.. so my daughter could come and pick it up. those Canucks are not all bad.. :)
 
Man if getting replacement batteries for things wasn't hard enough already......
 
Storing LiPo batteries fully charged isn't good for the battery anyway. I'm sorry if you feel inconvenienced when your new device isn't 90% or better charged fresh out of the box.

If anything, this will speed development of the next new battery technology. The energy density is lower, but I've sen them demonstrated on several tech YouTube channels where they get cut with sheers, hammered, punctured, etc. and there is absolutely none of the issues you get doing that with a LiPo. Literally cutting pieces off the battery just reduces the output, it doesn't catch on fire.
 
gtrguy said:
So how many planes have been brought down due to all these years of lithium ion battery shipments?
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Well in USA we've had one major aircraft go down in what... 15 years. So i'd say whatever the FAA is doing is working pretty fucking well.
 
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