DREAMLINER
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner was grounded by regulators in January after batteries burned on two of the jets within two weeks. It resumed flying in April, with Ethiopian Airlines being the first carrier to put it back into passenger service.
The new high-tech jet came under intense scrutiny and Boeing redesigned the battery system to add more layers of protection against fire. Boeing began installing reinforced lithium-ion battery systems on the 787 in April.
Teams of engineers were dispatched by Boeing worldwide to install the stronger battery casing and other components designed to prevent a repeat of the meltdowns that led to the first U.S. fleet grounding in 34 years.
The plan approved by the Federal Aviation Administration called for Boeing to encase the lithium-ion batteries in a steel box, install new battery chargers, and add a duct to vent gases directly outside the aircraft in the event of overheating.
The 787 uses a powerful electrical system to drive air conditioning and hydraulic functions that are run from compressed air on traditional aircraft designs. That electrical system experienced fire during its development which also prompted changes in its electrical panels.
The Dreamliner which caught fire at Heathrow on Friday was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in November last year.
It arrived at Heathrow from Addis Ababa in the early hours of Friday, according to the Flightradar monitoring web site. The plane was due to make the return journey later on Friday.
Asked whether the incident could lead to the renewed grounding of Dreamliner jets, a spokesman for Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said decisions on the airworthiness of particular models of plane were made by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). EASA was not immediately available to comment.
Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliners are powered by General Electric GEnx engines.
Aircraft graphic: link.reuters.com/rax39t
(Reporting by Rhys Jones, Estelle Shirbon, Mark Anderson, Michael Holden in London; writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton; editing by Jane Barrett and David Evans
Article Appeared @http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/us-britain-airport-heathrow-idUSBRE96B0NW20130712