Boeing shares up as FAA 787 recommendation nears
Boeing shares near 52-week high after FAA sees recommendation on next steps for 787 next week
Shares of Boeing Co. rose on Wednesday after federal authorities said they're reviewing Boeing's plan to get its troubled 787 flying again.
THE SPARK: Michael Huerta, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said on Wednesday that FAA staff are expected to make a recommendation as soon as next week about whether the agency should accept Boeing's proposed fix for the planes.
THE BIG PICTURE: The 787 has been grounded since Jan. 16 after two battery incidents involving smoke or fire. The incidents are under investigation by U.S. and Japanese aviation authorities. And Boeing has been working to find the root cause, and a fix. On Friday, Boeing made a detailed proposal to the FAA.
THE ANALYSIS: Huerta said Boeing's plan includes redesigning the batteries to prevent individual cells from catching fire. Should that fail, the plan includes steps to prevent a fire from spreading to other cells or outside the box that contains each battery's eight cells.
Even if FAA approves the plan — which isn't certain — the next step would be extensive testing and engineering before a final decision could be made about returning the 787 to passenger flights, Huerta said.
SHARE ACTION: Up $1.74, or 2.3 percent, to $77.39. It rose as high as $77.93 close to its 52-week high of $78.02, hit on Jan. 4.
