TOKYO ? All Nippon Airways Co is grounding all 17 of its Boeing 787 planes for inspection after one of its Dreamliners made an emergency landing in western Japan on Wednesday, the Japanese air carrier told Reuters.
ANA said instruments on a domestic flight early Wednesday indicated a battery error, but all passengers and crew evacuated safely by using the plane?s inflatable slides, ANA said.
The incident comes on top of a slew of recent problems with Boeing?s new Dreamliner aircraft. The sophisticated new plane, the world?s first mainly carbon-composite airliner, suffered two fuel leaks, a battery fire, a wiring problem, brake computer glitch and cracked cockpit window last week.
The Dreamliner is the cornerstone of Air Canada?s fleet renewal strategy. The country?s largest carrier has 37 787s on order, the first of which are expected to be delivered in 2014.
ANA said it evacuated 129 passengers and eight crew members from the Dreamliner after measuring instruments in the flight?s cockpit indicated there was a battery malfunction and the pilot smelled something strange. The company said it is still checking whether there was any smoke emitted into the cockpit.
Wednesday?s flight 692 bound for Haneda Airport near Tokyo left Yamaguchi Airport in western Japan shortly after 8 am Japan time but made an emergency landing in Takamatsu at 8:45 after smoke appeared in the cockpit, an Osaka airport authority spokesman said.
Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel told Reuters: ?We?ve seen the reports, we?re aware of the events and are working with our customer?.
Japan is the biggest market so far for the Dreamliner, with ANA and Japan Airlines Co flying 24 of the 50 Dreamliners delivered to date.
Shares of Boeing Dreamlier suppliers in Japan came under pressure on Wednesday, with Fuji Heavy Industries, GS Yuasa Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI all falling.
Japan?s transport minister had previously acknowledged that passenger confidence in Boeing?s new 787 Dreamliner jet is at stake, as both Japan and the United States have opened broad and open-ended investigations into the plane after a series of incidents that have raised safety concerns.
Japanese authorities said on Monday they would investigate fuel leaks on a 787 operated by JAL, and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said later its agents would analyse the lithium-ion battery and burned wire bundles from a fire aboard another JAL 787 at Boston?s Logan Airport last week.
Following is a full list of the recent incidents:
2012
July ? A General Electric Co engine on a 787 in North Charleston, South Carolina, breaks during a preflight test. The National Transportation Safety Board rules it a ?contained? failure, meaning the broken pieces did not exit through the engine wall. GE orders inspections of the engines. The Federal Aviation Administration stops short of grounding planes for inspections.
Dec. 4 ? A United Airlines 787 with 184 people aboard is forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans after experiencing electrical problems.
Dec. 5 ? U.S. regulators say there is a manufacturing fault in 787 fuel lines and advises operators to make extra inspections to guard against engine failures.
Dec. 13 ? Qatar Airways grounds one of its three 787s after finding the same electrical problem that affected the Dec. 4 United flight.
Dec. 17 ? United confirms finding an electrical problem in a second plane in its 787 fleet.
2013
Jan. 7 ? A parked 787 operated by Japan Airlines catches fire at Boston Logan International Airport after a battery in an auxiliary power system explodes.
Jan. 8 ? A second 787 operated by Japan Airlines leaks fuel at Logan, forcing it to cancel its takeoff and return to the gate. The plane departs later.
Following a safety inspection, United finds a wiring problem in the same electrical system that caused the Jan. 7 fire in Boston, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Jan. 9 ? Japan?s All Nippon Airways Co cancels a 787 flight scheduled for a domestic trip within Japan due to brake problems.
Jan. 11 ? A cockpit window on an ANA 787 cracks during a Japanese domestic flight. The plane lands safely with no injuries.
A separate ANA 787 springs an oil leak from its left engine, which is discovered after the plane lands safely.
The U.S. Department of Transportation says the 787 will undergo a comprehensive review of its critical systems.
Jan. 13 ? The Japan Airlines 787 that leaked fuel in Boston on Jan. 8 experiences another, separate fuel leak while undergoing checks in Tokyo.
Jan. 15 ? A 787 operated by ANA makes an emergency landing at Takamatsu in western Japan after smoke appears in the plane?s cockpit.
? Thomson Reuters 2012
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