A January 2013 battery fire prompted the worldwide grounding of all Boeing 787 Dreamliners -- one of the most advanced, sophisticated airliners in the sky. Click through the photos to see how Boeing re-engineered the battery to make it safer. 
Members of Boeing's Aircraft On Ground (AOG) team display components of the new Dreamliner battery system after an ANA 787 test flight. To implement the fix, Boeing moved a small army of technicians to 13 international locations. 
Before Boeing could implement the battery fix for Dreamliner customers, it constructed mockups and carried out tests on aircraft at headquarters. Here, 787 flight line mechanic Steve Foster slots a new battery containment box into position in a 787 electronic equipment bay.
The battery is secured inside its stainless steel containment box in the bay. The modification was performed on an airplane in Everett, Washington, as part of the certification process.
Once the fix was approved by the FAA, Boeing began to prepare then ship the battery containment kit for shipping to its 787 customers. "The parts easily go into a lower cargo hold but the tools and logistics to do the work probably are more suitable for a freighter," managing director of AOG James Testin says. "The equipment weighs close to 28,000 to 30,000 lbs (12.7 to 13.6 tons)." 
A battery compartment vent on the belly of a United Airlines Dreamliner 787. 
A Boeing technician checks an ANA Dreamliner after a test flight. Implementing the battery fix worldwide involved 10 teams and around 300 people, Boeing says. 
This Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner was the first to resume commercial services on April 27, 2013, after the global grounding of the 787. - Investigation ends into 2013 lithium-ion battery fire on Boeing 787 Dreamliner
- NTSB report blames short circuit and allegedly unsatisfactory FAA/Boeing oversight
- FAA, Boeing and battery maker are confident the problems have been fixed
- Boeing and Airbus considering using lithium-ion batteries on future airliners
(CNN) -- The long investigation surrounding a mysterious battery fire that made so much trouble for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is closed.
The National Transportation Safety Board report -- released December 1 -- comes nearly two years after burning and smoking batteries grounded all 50 of the world's most advanced airliners flying at the time.
When you pick apart the 110-page document, it reveals how any new piece of equipment can pose dangerous problems, even a noncritical piece of equipment like batteries. In this situation, the battery created one of the worst threats possible: an onboard fire.
From a broader perspective, the investigation reminds us of the heavy responsibilities shared by the world's aviation regulators and aircraft makers. The battery problems struck Boeing shortly after it had rolled out what was then a new model aircraft, with some of the most sophisticated technology available.
It all started in January 2013, when an empty Japan Airlines 787 caught fire while parked at Boston's Logan Airport. A second battery incident nine days later in Japan prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground the entire Dreamliner fleet while the problem was fixed.
Now, with more than 200 Dreamliners in service, the FAA says safer battery systems have been installed in the planes.
The NTSB basically blamed the battery problem on two things:
--Overheating from an electrical short circuit that may have been caused by manufacturing defects
Boeing handed over the first 787-9 Dreamliner to Air New Zealand on July 8, 2014. 
The debut aircraft was painted in a special edition livery, featuring the New Zealand fern on the back end of the fuselage. Flights will initially take place between Auckland and Perth starting October 2014, and extend to Tokyo and Shanghai a month later. 
Boeing's 787-9 Dreamliner took off on its maiden voyage on September 17, 2013. The 787-9 is 20 feet longer and holds 40 more passengers than the 787-8, which carries between 210 and 250 passengers. 
Besides carrying more passengers, the new version of the Dreamliner also can carry more cargo and fly further. 
Boeing began final assembly of the first 787-9 Dreamliner in May 2013 in Everett, Washington, when employees began joining large sections of the aircraft together. 
The Dreamliner 787-8 got off to a rough start. In January 2013, this All Nippon Airways 787 made an emergency landing because of battery troubles. It was one of several problems encountered by the aircraft, and subsequently the FAA ordered the entire 787 fleet to be grounded, while fixes to the battery system were made. The fleet started flying again in April 2013. 
A LOT Polish Airlines 787, with a redesigned lithium-ion battery system, performs a test flight at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The Dreamliner's distinctive wings sweep back at 32 degrees. 
The use of composite materials on the Dreamliner makes larger window cutouts possible. Composites have replaced aluminum as the predominant material in the 787. The 777 is made up of 50% aluminum and 12% composites, compared with the Dreamliner's nearly 50% makeup of composites and just 20% aluminum. 
Pilots train on one of two 787 full-flight simulators, like the one shown here, at the company's training center in Miami. Capt. Gary Lee Beard is shown demonstrating one of the simulators. 
Air India's 787-8 Dreamliner got a water cannon salute in Australia as the country's first Dreamliner passenger flight landed in Sydney. Gallery: Boeing 787-9 dreamliner 
No longer grounded for safety concerns, United Flight 1 flew from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Monday. 
A passenger on United Airlines Flight 1 looks out one of the Dreamliner's oversized windows. The use of composite materials to build the airplane made larger window cutouts possible. 
A United Airlines 787 Dreamliner sits on the runway in Houston on Monday as crews prepare for its first commercial flight since the fleet was grounded earlier this year. The Boeing 787 was the first entire airline model to be grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration in more than 30 years. 
Michael Reynolds of St. Louis, Missouri, reclines during the flight to Chicago. 
The Dreamliner has larger overhead bins than similar airliners. 
The aircraft's lightweight design allows it to fly long distances more efficiently. 
Alex Gilbert and Rebecca Davila watch a film during a flight on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. 
Lithium-ion batteries that overheated on two Dreamliners in January prompted authorities to ground all 50 of the 787s worldwide, but a redesigned battery system has cleared the way for the plane's return. 
A United Airlines maintenance worker examines a hydraulic line. 
The plane is designed to be lightweight so that it can fly farther with the same amount of fuel as heavier airliners. It can carry 200-plus passengers a third of the way around the globe. 
Composite materials have replaced aluminum as the predominant material in the 787. The 777 is made up of 50% aluminum and 12% composites, compared with the Dreamliner's nearly 50% makeup of composites and just 20% aluminum. 
United Airlines Capts. Neils Olufsen and Bill Blocker piloted the Dreamliner's domestic return to flight on Monday. 
United Airlines maintenance workers prepare the plane for flight. 
Boeing's Dreamliner design reflects the airlines' demand for efficiency. That desire has triggered a trend toward fuel-sipping, lightweight, long-range airliners. 
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Dreamliner 2.0 
Dreamliner catches fire at airport --Allegedly unsatisfactory oversight of the manufacturing process by both the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing
Read the full NTSB report (PDF) on the battery fire
To bring the investigation into sharper focus, here are eight questions and answers associated with the report:
1. What was the root cause of the short circuit?
It's remarkable: The investigation was unable to pinpoint the root cause of the battery cell short-circuit. Neither could Japanese investigators, although they had a theory.
2. How closely does the FAA monitor the development of aviation technology?
The FAA allows Boeing and other qualified manufacturers to use their own employees to confirm that new aircraft components meet safety regulations. They follow specific FAA guidelines and submit to regular checks by FAA officials. Experts say more and more of that self-checking oversight is moving further down the supply chain to subcontractors.
NTSB investigators recommended that both the FAA and Boeing "develop or revise processes to establish more effective oversight" of suppliers.
The report also called on the Dreamliner's Japan-based battery maker, GS Yuasa Corp., to "review its cell manufacturing processes and ensure its employees are properly trained."
Kenneth Quinn, a Washington-based attorney who represents the battery maker, said this week that "GS Yuasa had respectfully disagreed with a number of the observations NTSB made regarding manufacturing defects." He said the company is studying the report and is "eager to implement continuous quality improvements with the suggestions of the NTSB, FAA" and Japan's aviation regulators.
3. How did all this get started?
The battery, like those aboard all Dreamliners, was a lithium-ion battery, a technology that airline manufacturers like as a way to save fuel costs because of its low weight. Lithium-ion batteries also power cell phones and laptops. It's a developing technology that has a history of overheating issues.
Related: Watch video of the 787 that caught fire in 2013
Related: 787 Dreamliner infographic
The FAA had already certified these batteries as safe and flight worthy. Apparently they weren't. Passenger safety and billions of dollars in Boeing aircraft orders were at risk. Officials needed to know what went wrong.
That's why the FAA did something next that it hadn't done in more than 30 years: It grounded an entire type of airliner, nationwide. For about four months Dreamliners sat idle.
To fix the problem, each battery was put inside a fireproof steel box to prevent the battery from catching fire. Just in case, the box includes vents that would force any smoke outside the plane. More insulation against heat was also added, and the batteries were redesigned to charge at lower levels.
In the 19 months since the Dreamliner fix, there have been no reports of batteries catching fire, although a 787 battery cell did overheat while on the ground earlier this year. "The improvements made to the 787 battery system last year appear to have worked as designed," Boeing told Flightglobal in a statement at the time.
Related: Beacon blamed for London Dreamliner fire
Kenneth Quinn, attorney representing 787 battery maker
4. Could it happen again?
Boeing and the battery maker say no.
Theoretically, if another Dreamliner battery short-circuits and overheats, the system will remain safe because there won't be enough oxygen in the containment box for a fire to be possible, a Boeing spokeswoman said.
Does that make the battery maker comfortable with the fact that the root cause of the short-circuit remains a mystery?
"GS Yuasa is very comfortable in knowing that the quality of the manufacturing processes and the redesign of the battery will prevent a situation from occurring as it did in the Boston and Japanese incidents," said Quinn.
5. How important are these batteries, anyway?
They're necessary, but they have backups in case they fail.
The batteries are used only before take-off to power up the cockpit computer and to start the plane's auxiliary power unit. (That's the thing that fires up the 787's two jet engines.)
After takeoff -- unless there's a power failure -- these batteries are not in use because electricity to run onboard equipment is generated by the engines.
Even if there is a power failure -- which is highly unlikely -- there are other ways pilots can create electrical power to run the 787's steering and other systems. For example, small wind turbines -- called ram air turbines, or RATs -- that pop out of the aircraft to generate juice via wind power.
6. Will Boeing and the FAA develop a more effective process to oversee suppliers?
Boeing says it did that already, before the NTSB report. The company said it now has a "more formal flow of requirements and increased interaction between Boeing, its suppliers and sub-tier suppliers as compared to the processes in place earlier."
The FAA said it also has "effective processes in place to identify and correct issues that emerged before and after certification" of the 787.
But it also said it's still evaluating the NTSB recommendations "and will provide a timely response to the board."
7. Do airliner manufactures plan to use lithium-ion batteries on new aircraft models?
They do.
Immediately after the Dreamliner's troubles, Boeing competitor Airbus announced it was pulling lithium-ion batteries from early production models of its new A350 aircraft and going with traditional -- and heavier -- nickel cadmium batteries.
The first completed A350 XWB from Airbus, "MSN1," was unveiled at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France on May 13, 2013. "XWB" means "extra wide body." 
This photo taken on March 26, 2013 shows the A350-900 Airbus plane during its assembly at the European aircraft maker's production plant in Toulouse. There are three members in the A350 family: The A350-800, the A350-900 and the A350-1000, which seat 270, 314 and 350 passengers, respectively, in three-class seating. 
Technicians look at a Rolls-Royce jet engine, provided by UTC Aerospace Systems (formerly known as Goodrich), as they work on an A350-900 Airbus plane at the European aircraft maker's production plant in Toulouse. 
Technicians work on an A350-900 Airbus plane. Over 70% of the A350 XWB's airframe is made from advanced materials that combine composites (53%), titanium and advanced aluminum alloys. 
The next-generation A350 plane from Airbus takes off from Toulouse-Blagnac airport, southwestern France, on its first test flight on June 14, 2013. It was regarded as a milestone for an airliner that the firm hopes will challenge Boeing's 787 Dreamliner in the lucrative long-haul market. 
The A350 was crewed for its maiden flight by a British and a French test pilot assisted by a flight engineer and three other engineers at the back. 
"I knew it was going to be impressive, but I was blown away," Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said after the A350 XWB takeoff. 
Aviation enthusiasts around the world had their eyes on France on Friday, eager to catch the long-awaited inaugural flight of the Airbus A350 XWB. 
As for the likelihood of an A350 XWB visit in Paris next week, Airbus said the plane will be too busy carrying out flight tests to attend. However industry experts said there's an outside chance it may still be spotted in the skies at the airshow. Airbus A350 takes to the skies But in September Airbus did a 180. It said it planned to switch back to lithium-ion batteries on A350s set to be delivered in 2016. Airbus' chief designer told Bloomberg the company can "mitigate any risks to zero."
Boeing said this week it would decide whether to use lithium-ion batteries in new planes "on a case-by-case basis."
8. Were there any surprises in the report?
Yes: a random, unrelated problem with a new type of cockpit voice recorder.
The report revealed that a new recorder on the Japan Airlines Dreamliner didn't record voices very well, a situation that "could impede future aircraft investigations," the NTSB said.
Almost all crew conversations recorded by the cockpit voice recorder were "completely obscured" by ambient cockpit noise, according to the report.
The FAA should require Boeing to improve the quality of the audio on the recording device, the NTSB said. Boeing said it's still examining the NTSB recommendations.
Overall, for aviation enthusiasts and fans of the Dreamliner, the report offered a mountain of insider data about the popular aircraft.
As Quinn, the GS Yuasa attorney, put it, "I think we can all rest assured that this is the most investigated battery incident, ever."
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