Jet delivered just 3 weeks before battery fire

9:00 AM battery, before, delivered, weeks No Comments

Joan Lowy , The Associated Press – 4 days

WASHINGTON -- Federal investigators say the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that experienced a battery fire earlier this month was delivered to Japan Airlines less than three weeks before the fire.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday in an update of its investigation of the incident that the airliner was delivered on Dec. 20. It had only recorded 169 flight hours and 22 flights when the fire erupted in one of the airliner's two lithium ion batteries on Jan. 7.

The fire occurred at Logan International Airport shortly after the plane landed. NTSB said the battery was manufactured by GS Yuasa of Japan in September 2012.

A second battery incident led to an emergency landing by another 787 in Japan on Jan. 16. The 787 fleet worldwide has since been grounded.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Price of gas up 3.5 cents in the past two weeks

1:50 AM cents, Price, weeks No Comments

The average price of gasoline in the United States rose again in the past two weeks, gaining nearly 3.5 cents to about $3.39 a gallon, due in part to higher crude oil prices, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline went up 3.48 cents to $3.3944 a gallon as of Jan. 20, the survey of about 2,500 gasoline stations in the continental United States found.

That was a more modest rise than the 12-cent jump in the previous survey, which covered the three weeks ended Jan. 6.

The survey's editor, Trilby Lundberg, told Reuters that crises in Iran and Nigeria were putting pressure on crude oil supply. But because of dampened demand caused by Europe's debt crisis, it was hard to say which way prices would head.

Since crude oil prices rose a bit last week, Lundberg said gas prices could well increase another 5 cents or more in the short term.

Among cities covered, the lowest average was in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the price was $2.94 per gallon; the highest city on average was Los Angeles at $3.71 a gallon.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters.

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