Boeing will present a plan to temporarily fix its troubled Dreamliner battery to the government as early as this week, the Seattle Times reported Monday.
The worldwide fleet of the Boeing 787 aircraft, known as the Dreamliner, has been grounded because of two fires in the lithium-ion batteries.
The temporary fix involves placing the battery in a heavy-duty steel box – with a hose to vent any gases if a fire does occur, the Times reported.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines has ordered several dozen Dreamliners with options on dozens more. The first delivery is planned for November 2014.
The fix would require the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration.
"It’s a huge problem for Boeing," said aviation safety expert Denny Kelly. "It’s a huge problem in getting it fixed, and it’s a huge problem in public relations."
Kelly said the public could soon lose confidence in the jet.
"If this goes on much longer, the airlines are going to start cancelling planes and the general public is going to come out and say, 'I don’t want to fly that airplane.'"
A Boeing spokesman did not return a call from NBC 5 DFW.