FAA won't return 787 to flight until battery risks addressed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it was reviewing a proposal by Boeing Co aimed at returning the 787 Dreamliner to flight, but said it would not allow that to happen until it was confident that risks with the airplane's batteries had been addressed.

Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and other FAA officials met with senior Boeing executives earlier Friday to discuss the status of ongoing work to address 787 battery issues, said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown.

"The FAA is reviewing a Boeing proposal and will analyze it closely," Brown said. "The safety of the flying public is our top priority and we won't allow the 787 to return to commercial service until we're confident that any proposed solution has addressed the battery failure risks."

The FAA grounded the entire fleet of 50 787s on January 16 after the lithium ion batteries on two separate planes failed.

(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Gary Hill)