The Daily Gamecock

In Brief: Jan. 18, 2013

Boeing 787s grounded worldwide following battery issues

The Federal Aviation Administration and aviation regulators around the world grounded Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners this week after two planes’ batteries experienced issues.

Last week, a lithium-ion battery caught fire on a 787 in Boston, and Wednesday, a flight in Japan made an emergency landing after an alarm warned that a battery was smoking.

The planes are assembled in Boeing plants in Everett, Wash. and in North Charleston, and, so far, the company has delivered 50 787s, including four from South Carolina.

The South Carolina planes have all been delivered to Air India, The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported. The airline doesn’t appear to have had battery issues, but those planes are currently grounded, according to The New York Times.

Three 787s are parked on the flight line in North Charleston, according to The Post and Courier, which reports that a local spokeswoman wouldn’t say how the groundings will affect test flights. The company will continue to manufacture the planes in spite of the grounding, The Associated Press reported.

—Compiled by Thad Moore, News Editor

 

Cats up: SC’s feline ownership ranking improves in new study

As it turns out, South Carolinians just aren’t cat people.

The American Veterinary Medical Association’s recently released U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook found that South Carolina ranked in the bottom 10 for states in terms of cat ownership, at No. 42. Just 27.8 percent of households in the state had a cat in 2011, according to the report.

But take heart, cat owners: South Carolina’s ranking is an improvement — sort of.

In 2006, the last time the group compiled the study, the state ranked No. 43, according to a press release. But in that report, more South Carolina households — 29.4 percent — had a cat.

—  Compiled by Thad Moore, News Editor

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