Heavy Transport
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy
34 KG of Lithium Ion batteries loaded in Lower Aft Cargo Compartment. The only firefighting capability in these compartments is Halon; which is not effective on Li-Metal and marginally effective on Li-ion. Reference this quote [from an article]; 'While Halon has been shown to suppress the flames from a lithium-ion battery fire; the FAA has stated it's marginally effective in protecting cargo shipments due to its inability to prevent cell-to-cell thermal runaway propagation. As lithium-ion cells are heated during the fire; flammable vapors are vented and can accumulate in an enclosed space; setting the stage for an explosion if a spark is introduced; such as from an adjacent battery igniting.'Company Policy allowing Lithium Batteries to be carried in the lower cargo compartments when that is not the safest choice. Plus it's hard to verify the shipments are properly loaded/blocked if you wanted to confirm such. As long as we're carrying Li batteries without better rules from the FAA or ICAO; all lithium batteries should be loaded on the main cargo deck where the Fire Suppression System (FSS) supposedly is more effective combating a Li battery fire and we know Halon is not.
An Air Carrier Captain laments the loading of Lithium Ion batteries in Lower Aft Cargo Compartment where the only firefighting capability is Halon; which is not effective on Li-Metal and marginally effective on Li-ion. He believes that if Lithium batteries are to be carried they should be loaded on the main deck where they can be inspected and the FSS is better.