(Reuters) – Boeing Co’s new 787 Dreamliner is the pride of the company’s passenger jet fleet, but a series of incidents in the last few weeks has raised questions about the jet’s safety and image. One incident with an engine occurred last July.
Following is a list of those incidents:
2012
July – A General Electric Co engine on a 787 in North Charleston, S.C., 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.
December 4 – A United Airlines 787 with 184 people aboard is forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans after experiencing electrical problems.
December 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.
December 13 – Qatar Airways grounds one of its three 787s after finding the same electrical problem that affected the December 4 United flight.
December 17 – United confirms finding an electrical problem in a second plane in its 787 fleet.
2013
January 7 – A parked 787 operated by Japan Airlines catches fire at Boston Logan International Airport after a battery in an auxiliary power system explodes.
January 8 – A second 787 operated by Japan Airlines leaks fuel at Boston 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 January 7 fire in Boston, the Wall Street Journal reports.
(Reporting By Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Alden Bentley)
