Dropsafe

by Alec Muffett

FAA / TSA about to get antsy regarding Lithium Batteries ?

Something to bear in mind lest you carry multiple laptop or camcorder batteries in flight; I presume someone told them that Lithium reacts explosively with this “water” stuff that they’ve already banned people from carrying aboard…

Yet another $100+ item that can be impounded by the ignorant.

TechThoughts
The FAA has published new rules for transporting your camcorder & other batteries both as carry-on and as checked baggage. If you’re going to be carrying your own batteries on a flight in 2008 and beyond, it behooves you to read the new guidelines and, if necessary, call the manufacturer— because more than 25 grams of lithium content can get your battery confiscated.

Read the whole thing; if you are a geek it will smack of ludicrously unenforcable control freakery.

Via Macworld.

Update: more…

Passengers will still be able to carry lithium batteries in checked bags if they are installed in a device like a laptop or digital camera. But loose batteries will need to be put in a plastic bag and carried on the plane as hand luggage, the DOT said.

The rules also limit each passenger to two “extended-life” lithium batteries. These are larger batteries with more than 8 grams of equivalent lithium content, examples of which are pictured in the DOT’s statement.

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Comments

2 responses to “FAA / TSA about to get antsy regarding Lithium Batteries ?”

  1. Louis F. Springer

    What a load of rubbish. Does anyone ever look at the economics of this kind of rule? Is this cost-effective security? Is this the best way to deal with lithium on the plane?

    Also, I think a lot of this stuff is exactly what terrorists intend: screw up my life and make travel even more miserable. Whatever happened to “Live free or die”? When does all this cross the line and we are not free but the criminals are?

    Reply
  2. Chris Samuel

    I believe this comes out of an NTSB investigation into a fire on a UPS cargo plane (flight 1307, N748UP) where lithium batteries were involved. The opening statement by the chief investigator gives specific concerns about them on other flights, saying:

    Nevertheless, secondary lithium batteries as well as primary (or “non-rechargeable” lithium batteries) can present fire hazards due to the heat often generated when they are damaged or suffer a short circuit. Several lithium battery incidents have occurred in recent years, including a lithium-ion battery fire that occurred less than two months ago on an airplane in Chicago. Flight attendants used extinguishers on an overhead bag that was smoking. The bag was removed from the airplane and placed on the ramp, where it then caught fire. The fire apparently started from a spare laptop battery being carried in the bag.

    There is also an IFALPA Safety Bulletin from May 2007, “In flight fire risk from portable electronic equipment batteries” (PDF), that documents four fires that occurred due to batteries, 2 on the ground (including the Chicago incident above) and two in the air.

    Reply

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