Japanese airlines ground Dreamliners
Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have grounded their entire Dreamliner fleets, after one of ANA’s aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing due to a suspected electrical fault.
ANA’s Boeing 787 had just taken off from Yamaguchi Ube Airport this morning (16 January 2013), bound for Tokyo, when, according to the airline, the aircraft’s instruments indicated a battery problem. Crew aboard the aircraft also reported “an unusual smell” in the cabin. The aircraft made an emergency landing an all 137 passengers and crew disembarked safely.
This was the latest in series of problems to have hit Japanese Dreamliners in the past week, and prompted both ANA and JAL to announce the grounding of their entire B787 fleets.
ANA currently operates 17 B787s and JAL seven. In a statement released today, ANA said it would cancel all B787 flights on 16 January, before switching its international Dreamliner services to other aircraft on 17 January. ANA’s domestic Dreamliner flights will remain cancelled on 17 January. JAL has also taken its Dreamliners out of service, cancelling some flights and switching others to its B777 or B767 aircraft.
The grounding of the 24 Japanese Dreamliners marks the culmination of a troubled few weeks for the aircraft. Two of JAL’s B787s have suffered problems, with a small electrical fire last week followed by fuel leaks at both Boston Logan and Tokyo Narita airports. These incidents were preceded by reported electrical faults on B787s belonging to United Airlines and Qatar Airways in December 2012, and prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to order a review of the aircraft.
Earlier this week, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism said it would set up its own investigation team, which will work with the FAA.
A total of 49 B787s are currently in service with eight airlines around the world. ANA revealed that the aircraft involved in Wednesday’s emergency landing had been in service for approximately 12 months, operating domestic routes since 24 January 2012.