Mike-the-cat
Second Officer
Flight distance : 22488593 ft
New Zealand
Offline
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ScooterC5 Posted at 2017-3-9 10:28
Actually you're allowed to check the batteries that are installed in the Inspire. Installed batteries are the only ones you're allowed to check. So you can legally check two Inspire 2 batteries as long as they're installed in the drone.
This rule doesn't make sense to be honest. Given that Lithium batteries have a low but finite risk of catching fire spontaneously, why would it be safer if the battery was installed compared to if it were not ?- since the former is unequivocally, an open circuit and the latter, true only if there is no malfunction.
Should a fire erupt, wouldn't it be safer if it were in the cabin and detected by many humans, rather in a hold which is not accessible to witnesses and more importantly, agents who could control a fire?
I believe the current rules were set up to allow the air-shipping of equipment like laptops, tablets and phones that have batteries integrated in their chassis. Do recall that 2 years back, some poor quality personal mobility devices with installed batteries caught fure in flight. Its the latter fly-by-night manufacturers that have tarnished the market and have resulted in tightened regulations.
Overall, the risk of a spontaneous fire from a well conditioned new Li battery that is not at full charge is very very low. Rule-makers are not perfect nor are they always logical and business concerns sometimes color the way rules are made.
Hope this clarifies |
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