Could a shipment of lithium-ion batteries on the missing flight MH370 be responsible for a fire on board the aircraft, the Mail Online asked today.
The online version of UK's Daily Mail said Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya admitted that the plane was carrying highly flammable lithium-ion batteries.
The latest admission has reignited speculation that a fire might be responsible for its disappearance two weeks ago. On March 17, Ahmad Jauhari (pic) had said at the daily press briefing that flight MH370 was transporting three to four tonnes of mangosteens to China, stressing that there was no dangerous cargo on board.
(The International Civil Aviation Organisation defines dangerous goods as articles or substances which are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. It had, in February 2013, prohibited the carriage of lithium-ion aircraft batteries as cargo on passenger planes.)
The Mail Online report said lithium-ion batteries have caused 140 mid-air incidents in the last 20 years. They are commonly used in mobile phones and laptops.
Ahmad Jauhari said the authorities were investigating the cargo but did not regard the batteries as hazardous because they were packaged according to safety regulations.
"We carried some lithium-ion small batteries, they are not big batteries and they are basically approved under the ICAO under dangerous goods," the Mail Online quoted him as saying. "They (lithium-ion batteries) are not dangerous goods per se, but in terms (of) they are (being) declared as dangerous goods under ICAO."
Ahmad Jauhari said the lithium-ion batteries were checked several times to ensure they complied with the guidelines.
"Airlines do that all the time, it is not just Malaysia Airlines. These goods are being flown by many airlines as cargo anyway, (which) is based on ICAO’s ruling," the Mail Online quoted him as saying.
22/03/14 The Malaysian Insider
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The online version of UK's Daily Mail said Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya admitted that the plane was carrying highly flammable lithium-ion batteries.
The latest admission has reignited speculation that a fire might be responsible for its disappearance two weeks ago. On March 17, Ahmad Jauhari (pic) had said at the daily press briefing that flight MH370 was transporting three to four tonnes of mangosteens to China, stressing that there was no dangerous cargo on board.
(The International Civil Aviation Organisation defines dangerous goods as articles or substances which are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. It had, in February 2013, prohibited the carriage of lithium-ion aircraft batteries as cargo on passenger planes.)
The Mail Online report said lithium-ion batteries have caused 140 mid-air incidents in the last 20 years. They are commonly used in mobile phones and laptops.
Ahmad Jauhari said the authorities were investigating the cargo but did not regard the batteries as hazardous because they were packaged according to safety regulations.
"We carried some lithium-ion small batteries, they are not big batteries and they are basically approved under the ICAO under dangerous goods," the Mail Online quoted him as saying. "They (lithium-ion batteries) are not dangerous goods per se, but in terms (of) they are (being) declared as dangerous goods under ICAO."
Ahmad Jauhari said the lithium-ion batteries were checked several times to ensure they complied with the guidelines.
"Airlines do that all the time, it is not just Malaysia Airlines. These goods are being flown by many airlines as cargo anyway, (which) is based on ICAO’s ruling," the Mail Online quoted him as saying.
22/03/14 The Malaysian Insider
