Dreamliners grounded globally due to fire risk

WASHINGTON. January 18. KAZINFORM Aviation authorities around the world ordered airlines to stop flying their Boeing 787 Dreamliners over fire risk associated with battery failures aboard the highly touted aircraft.
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Groundings that extended globally on Thursday stemmed from a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration directive on Wednesday night that planes should not fly until the problems are resolved.

The action resulted from recent mechanical and other glitches culminating with a severe battery related fire aboard an empty Dreamliner in Boston 10 days ago and an emergency landing in Japan this week prompted by an alarm indicating smoke in an electrical compartment.

"The battery failures resulted in release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke on two Model 787 airplanes," the FAA said in a statement.

"The root cause of these failures is currently under investigation. These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment," the FAA said.

In all, authorities in Europe, Japan and India have grounded the planes while the battery problem is investigated. Carriers in Chile and Ethiopia also set down their 787s until further notice, Kazinform quotes CNN.

United Airlines is the only U.S. carrier to operate the Dreamliner. The carrier said it would work with the FAA on its directive. It inspected its fleet of six 787s after the Boston fire.

The marquee and technologically advanced 787 is widely viewed as crucial to the future of the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer.

The Dreamliner order book is very strong even though the plane had years of embarrassing setbacks and cost overruns during development.

The first commercial Dreamliner flight took off in October 2011, flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong, and the planes flew without major problems for months.

But Boeing's most recent problems with the plane extended beyond battery technology, global safety regulators, canceled service and a steady stream of negative publicity. The company's shares on Wall Street are sharply lower as well.

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