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Boeing 787 Catches Fire at Heathrow Boeing 787 Catches Fire at Heathrow
(about 1 hour later)
An internal fire broke out on Friday on a Boeing 787 that Ethiopian Airlines had parked between flights at London’s Heathrow Airport, the airport said.An internal fire broke out on Friday on a Boeing 787 that Ethiopian Airlines had parked between flights at London’s Heathrow Airport, the airport said.
The plane was in a remote area, and no passengers were on board. But a Heathrow spokesman said the airport temporarily suspended arrivals and departures for all other flights while fire crews responded to the incident. The plane was in a remote area, and no passengers were on board. But the airport temporarily suspended arrivals and departures on its two runways while fire crews responded to the incident at 4:36 p.m. local time, several hours before the plane, named the Queen of Sheba, was scheduled to depart for Ethiopia. By 6 p.m., the runways had reopened, and traffic was returning to normal.
Boeing said it was aware of the problem, but neither the airport nor Boeing provided any information about the cause of the fire. Boeing said it was aware of the problem, but the airport, the airline and Boeing have not identified the cause of the fire.
Television images showed fire trucks around the plane, and fire-retardant foam appeared to have been applied, The Associated Press reported. The incident took place about two months after the innovative 787 Dreamliners returned to the skies after being grounded for four months because of hazards with a new type of battery. One of the lithium-ion batteries caught fire on a 787 parked at a Boston airport on Jan. 9, and another began smoking in midflight a week later, forcing the 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan. In the Boston incident, the fire took longer to extinguish.
Regulators lifted the grounding orders after Boeing came up with a plan to refit the first 50 to 60 of the new jets with more insulation between the battery cells and a new system for venting smoke or hazardous gases out of the planes. Ethiopian Airlines has four 787s in its fleet.
Boeing said that while the planes were grounded, it also had made changes in electrical panels that had failed on occasion since the planes were introduced into service in late 2011.
At Heathrow, the plane appeared to have sustained damage on the crown of the fuselage near its rear, which would not be near either of the two batteries. Television footage and photographs showed fire damage near the base of the vertical stabilizer that appeared to burn through the plane’s carbon composite skin. Some wiring could run near the area where the damage was visible.
But the main electrical panels and generators are in the center of the plane, below the passenger floor. That is also where one of the two lithium-ion batteries is situated. The second is near the front of the plane, under the cockpit.
Britain’s Air Accidents Investigations Branch said it had sent a team of experts to Heathrow to look at the plane. In Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board said it also would send an investigator.
In another incident on Friday, Thomson Airways said one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes traveling from England to Florida had to turn back after experiencing a technical issue, according to The Associated Press.In another incident on Friday, Thomson Airways said one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes traveling from England to Florida had to turn back after experiencing a technical issue, according to The Associated Press.
Thomson, a British charter airline, said that Flight 126 traveling from Manchester Airport to Sanford, Fla., had returned to Manchester “as a precautionary measure.”Thomson, a British charter airline, said that Flight 126 traveling from Manchester Airport to Sanford, Fla., had returned to Manchester “as a precautionary measure.”
It said all passengers had left the plane and engineers were inspecting it.It said all passengers had left the plane and engineers were inspecting it.
The incidents took place about seven weeks after the innovative 787 Dreamliners returned to the skies after being grounded for four months because of hazards with a new type of battery. One of the lithium-ion batteries caught fire on a 787 parked at a Boston airport on Jan. 9, and another began smoking in midflight a week later, forcing the 787 to make an emergency landing in Japan. Boeing had hoped that it had put its earlier problems behind it, and it has been increasing production of the 787 in recent months. Boeing has orders for about 800 more of the planes, which are expected to anchor its revenues over the next two decades.
Regulators lifted the grounding orders after Boeing came up with a plan to refit the first 50 to 60 of the new jets with more insulation between the battery cells and a new system for venting smoke or hazardous gases out of the planes. Boeing said that while the planes were grounded, it also had made changes in electrical panels that had failed on occasion since the planes were introduced into service in late 2011. Boeing’s stock, which had rallied in recent months, had fallen more than 7 percent, to below $100 a share, after news of the incident broke, but recovered somewhat later in the day.
Aviation analysts said the battery problems had cost Boeing hundreds of millions of dollars and slowed its progress in fielding the planes, which reduce fuel costs by 20 percent and have been in great demand by the airlines. The 787 has a large number of innovations compared with traditional airplanes that go well beyond its carbon-fiber structure. To reduce weight and improve the plane’s efficiency, Boeing replaced much of the traditional pneumatical systems with electrical ones that do not rely on bleed air from the engines.
“We can confirm there has been an onboard internal fire involving an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft and the airport’s emergency services are in attendance,” the statement from Heathrow Airport said on Friday. “The aircraft was parked on a remote parking stand. There were no passengers on board and there are no reported injuries at this time. Arrivals and departures are temporarily suspended while airport fire crews attend to this incident. This is a standard procedure if fire crews are occupied with an incident.” The 787 has six electrical power generators — including two that are near the rear of the plane, linked to the auxiliary power generator, and two on each of the plane’s two engines. These generators provide power to the plane’s electrical systems in flight, including the flight deck displays, flight controls and in-flight entertainment. The system is more efficient because it reduces the drag on the engines and generates less noise. During flight, the four engine generators are the primary sources of electrical power. The APU is a small jet-engine that is used to produce power while on the ground.
Runways were reopened a short time later. Aviation analysts said that Boeing’s battery problems had cost it hundreds of millions of dollars and slowed its progress in fielding the planes, which reduce fuel costs by 20 percent and have been in great demand by the airlines.
“We’re aware of the event,” said Marc R. Birtel, a Boeing spokesman. “We have Boeing personnel on the ground at Heathrow and are working to fully understand and address this.”
Boeing’s stock, which had rallied in recent months, was down about 6 percent, to around $100 a share, immediately following the report.