電池起火成墜機誘因 坐飛機還安全嗎

The Federal Aviation Administration, citing fire hazards, has warned against using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on aircraft.

美國聯邦航空管理局(Federal Aviation Administration)以火災危險爲由警告不要在飛機上使用三星蓋樂世Note 7(Samsung Galaxy Note 7)智能手機。

Three Australian airlines and the German carrier Lufthansa have outright banned their use onboard.

三家澳大利亞航空公司和德國漢莎航空公司(Lufthansa)則明確禁止在機上使用該產品。

But the threat of airliner fires is not limited to Samsung devices, which the company has offered to replace.

不過，飛機上的火災威脅不僅限於三星的電子設備（三星已提出調換）。

And the hazard is far more than theoretical.

這些危險也不僅是理論上的。

Qantas, one of the Australian carriers, had an onboard fire during a trans-Pacific flight this year when a passenger’s cellphone was crushed in the mechanism of a business-class seat and the phone’s lithium-ion battery ignited.

今年，澳洲航空公司(Qantas)的飛機在一次跨太平洋飛行中發生火災，一名乘客的手機被商務艙座位的機械裝置壓碎，鋰離子電池起火。

In January as a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta arrived at the gate, crew members discovered that a carry-on bag containing two laptop computers had burst into flames, according to the FAA The smoke prompted some passengers to use the emergency exits and wait on the wings until help arrived.

今年1月，美國聯邦航空管理局報告，一架從明尼阿波利斯飛往亞特蘭大的達美航空公司(Delta Air Lines)客機抵達登機口時，機組成員發現一件裝有兩臺筆記本電腦的隨身行李起火。煙霧迫使一些乘客使用緊急出口離開，在機翼上等待，直至救援人員到達。

The problem is lithium-ion batteries, which have become the standard for portable consumer electronics, including phones, tablets and laptops, because of the power they can pack into a small package.

問題出在鋰離子電池身上，它已成爲便攜式電子產品的標配，包括手機、平板電腦和手提電腦，因爲一塊小小的鋰離子電池能存儲大量電能。

They are also highly volatile.

但它們也非常不穩定。

Battery fires were considered a contributing factor in the crashes of three cargo planes in the last 10 years: an Asiana 747 in 2011, a UPS 747 in Dubai in 2010 and a UPS DC-8 in Philadelphia in 2006.

電池起火被認爲是過去10年中三架貨運飛機墜毀的一個誘因：2011年韓亞航空公司(Asiana)的747飛機；2010年UPS的747飛機（在迪拜），以及2006年UPS的DC-8飛機（在費城）。

In January, the FAA issued a warning that lithium-ion batteries in a cargo hold carried the risk of a catastrophic hull loss on an airplane.

今年1月，美國聯邦航空管理局發佈警告，貨艙中的鋰離子電池對飛機具有災難性殼體損失風險。

So far there have been no airliner disasters specifically attributed to passengers’ digital devices.

到目前爲止，還沒有明確因乘客的數碼設備而造成的空難。

But experts worry about the sheer mathematics.

但簡單統計一下數字，就足以讓專家擔心。

The Royal Aeronautical Society in Britain estimates that even a single-aisle jet with only 100 passengers might have more than 500 lithium-ion batteries aboard.

英國皇家航空協會(Royal Aeronautical Society in Britain)估計，就連一架僅能搭載100名乘客的單通道飛機也可能裝有500多塊鋰離子電池。

Those numbers, and the attendant fire risks, could eventually catch up with the air-traveling public.

那些電池以及伴隨的火災風險可能最終傷害搭飛機旅行的公衆。

The question is: What to do about it — besides issuing advisories?

問題：除了發佈警告之外，我們還能怎麼辦？

The FAA administrator, Michael P.

美國聯邦航空管理局局長邁克爾•P•胡爾塔(Michael P.

Huerta, said in an email statement that the agency recognized that the batteries posed risks and that it was tracking all incidents in aircraft cabins to help us determine what we can do.

Huerta)在電子郵件聲明中稱，該機構認識到電池具有風險，正在研究所有機艙事故，幫助我們確定能做些什麼。

Huerta urged passengers to put their devices in a carry-on bag or other safe location when not using them.

胡爾塔強烈建議乘客把不用的電子設備放入隨身行李或其他安全的地方。

But the FAA is in a tough situation.

不過，美國聯邦航空管理局處於艱難的境地。

Under the regulatory rules, it cannot ground the Galaxy Note 7 until the Consumer Product Safety Commission orders a recall.

按照管理規定，它不能禁止蓋樂世Note 7上飛機，除非消費產品安全委員會(Consumer Product Safety Commission)命令召回。

On Friday, the safety commission said it was working with Samsung on the terms of a recall and urged owners of the phones to stop using them.

週五，該安全委員會稱，正在與三星協商召回事宜，並敦促那些手機的所有者不要使用它們。

On Saturday, Samsung offered new guidance to owners: Turn off your phone and bring it in for a replacement.

週六，三星給顧客們提供了新方案：關掉手機，拿來更換。

Congress has limited the FAA’s ability to place restrictions on battery-powered devices on airplanes beyond the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, according to Laura Brown, an FAA spokeswoman.

據美國聯邦航空管理局的發言人勞拉•布朗(Laura Brown)稱，國會限制美國聯邦航空管理局在國際民用航空組織(International Civil Aviation Organization)的建議之外，對機上電池供電設備進行更多限制。

The organization, a U.N. agency, says the devices should not be transported on passenger planes as cargo or in checked baggage.

後者是聯合國的下屬機構，它表示，這些設備不應該在客機上作爲貨物運輸，也不應在托運行李中運輸。

As for in-cabin use, the organization defers to each country’s rules.

至於在機艙內的使用，該組織留給每個國家自行規定。

Any attempt to seriously restrict or even ban devices powered by lithium-ion batteries would probably face an outcry from travelers, who have come to consider them an indispensable part of modern life.

旅客們已經把手機視爲現代生活不可缺少的一部分，任何嚴格限制甚至禁止這些以鋰離子電池設備的嘗試都可能招致強烈抗議。

There would also be the question of who would enforce such rules, and how.

另外，還有誰來執行以及如何執行這些規定的問題。

Airport security check-in processes are already long and tedious, without adding a new layer of scrutiny.

機場安檢託運過程已經很漫長無聊，更別提再加一層審查。

Until a few years ago, before the in-cabin use of phones and other electronic devices was allowed below 10,000 feet, it was widely known that passengers surreptitiously defied the rule.

幾年前，在1萬英尺以下的機艙內使用手機等電子設備不再被禁止。在那之前，衆所周知，乘客往往偷偷地自行其是。

Flight attendants complained that it was impossible to police.

乘務員抱怨說，他們無法管束。

So the goal is to contain the hazard.

所以，目標是控制危險。

In the event of a lithium-ion battery fire in flight, FAA standards may help minimize the damage.

當飛行中遇到鋰離子電池着火的情況時，美國聯邦航空管理局的標準也許可以幫助把損失降低到最小。

Seat covers, carpets, curtains and dividers are made of special materials that are flame retardant, even against a lithium-ion battery fire, which burns in the neighborhood of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Isidor Buchmann, an engineer who runs the informational site .

座套、地毯、窗簾和分割簾由特殊的阻燃材料做成，甚至能抵擋鋰離子電池引發的火情。據信息網站的運營工程師伊西多•布克曼(Isidor Buchmann)稱，這種材料在周圍溫度達到1000華氏度（約合538攝氏度）時會燃燒。

Some experts say those standards could suffice.

有些專家稱，這些標準已經足夠。

It’s damned near impossible to propagate a fire on an airplane, said George J. Ringger, an aeronautical engineer with his own consulting company who specializes in cabin interiors.

在飛機上，火勢幾乎不可能蔓延，航空工程師喬治•J•林格(George J. Ringger)說。他自己的諮詢公司專門提供機艙內部設施方面的建議。

Could a passenger get burned? Yes.

乘客是否有可能被燒傷？有可能。

Would there be smoke that would propagate in the cabin? Do crews have protocols? Yes.

煙霧是否有可能在機艙蔓延？機組成員是否有應急方案？是的。

But some other fire and safety experts are not as sanguine.

但是其他一些火災和安全專家不這麼樂觀。

A laptop battery fire could take hours to burn itself out.

如果手提電腦的電池起火，可能要在數小時後才能燒盡。

And the smoke emitted would be abundant and toxic.

可能釋放大量有毒煙霧。

Michael Gilchrist is an engineer and co-owner of PlaneGard, a maker of a case meant to contain the fire and smoke if a battery starts to malfunction.

工程師邁克爾•吉爾克里斯特(Michael Gilchrist)是PlaneGard公司的聯合所有者。該公司生產一種箱子，電池功能失常時放進去，可以限制火和煙霧蔓延。

Customers include Air Tahiti Nui, which carries the PlaneGard case on transoceanic flights.

它的客戶包括塔希提航空公司(Air Tahiti Nui)，後者在跨大洋的航班上配備了PlaneGard盒。

With a full-blown laptop, you see what happens, Gilchrist said. You have a 35- or 40-minute event.

對於一臺完整的筆記本電腦，情況會是這樣，吉爾克里斯特說，那會是一場持續35至40分鐘的事故。

That could cause a lot of problems.

會導致很多問題。