Boeing says 787 safety tests half done now, demo flight coming soon

Boeing said it has finished more than half of the testing on its proposed battery fix for the 787, with the rest of the ground and flight tests coming in the next several days. The test results so far have been in line with the testing Boeing did when it was developing the fix, spokesman Marc Birtel said on Wednesday. Smoldering batteries — including one fire on the ground — prompted air safety authorities to ground the world's 787s in mid-January. Boeing has developed what it believes is a permanent fix, including more heat insulation and a system for venting battery gases outside of the plane. The tests under way now are aimed at demonstrating that the fix worked. Ultimately, the Federal Aviation Administra