US authorities investigating problems with the much-heralded Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet planes have expressed grave concerns over “unprecedented” fire on the aircraft.
“This is an unprecedented event. We are very concerned. We do not expect to see fire events on board aircraft,” AFP quoted Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as saying on Thursday.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been troubled by a series of bad news this month, including fire aboard a Japan Airlines-operated 787 Dreamliner at Logan International Airport in Boston on January 7.
Hersman said the NTSB had still not determined what caused the fire on the aircraft, but she said that testing so far showed that the battery experienced a thermal runaway, short circuits, and a fire.
“We are early in our investigation,” she noted, adding that “we are working very hard to determine what happened and why it happened.”
The fire and a second 787 battery problem, which forced an emergency landing of an aircraft in Japan on January 15, prompted aviation authorities in the US and elsewhere to order the global grounding of all 50 787s in operation worldwide on January 16.
MN/HN
