Tagged: Boeing

Last Updated: March 12, 2013 5:30 p.m. 

In a statement, the FAA said Boeing could go ahead with its plan to test a redesigned battery system for the 787. The FAA also gave the green light to limited flights for two aircraft that will have test versions of the new systems.

  The National Transportation Safety Board says it still does not know the root cause of the battery fire that triggered the grounding of the Boeing Co. 787 fleet.

Just as humans aren’t born knowing how to talk, birds aren’t born knowing what songs to sing. Take the song sparrow: Their songs are combinations of buzzing, trilling and music notes. Each song sends a message: “This is my territory,” or “Don’t mess with me.”

An aggressive sparrow mimics another bird's song, like a sort of playground argument. “Stop copying me.” “Stop copying me.” “Stop it!” “Stop it!” – until it comes to blows. Michael Beecher has been studying sparrow communication for nearly 30 years. Katy Sewall joins him in the field to start a sparrow fight.

The Boeing Dreamliner was been grounded since Jan. 16 as authorities try to sort out problems with the plane’s high tech batteries and electrical system. Meanwhile, it was 70 years ago this coming week that an earlier Boeing plane caught fire over Seattle during a test flight, causing one of the worst air disasters in the city’s history.