Qatar Airways 787 Boeing's flagship 787 Dreamliner plane is giving troubled days for Boeing after three subsequent snags in three d...
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| Qatar Airways 787 |
In the latest incident, Japan's All Nippon Airways cancelled a domestic 787 flight from Yamaguchi to Tokyo on Wednesday because of a brake problem but later it was found that the computer had wrongly indicated it.
On Tuesday, Japan Airlines cancelled a Boston to Tokyo flight after about 40 gallons (151 litres) of fuel spilled.
Passengers got off safely and no-one was hurt, an airport spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the US National Transportation Safety Board said that it would not investigate Tuesday's incident, because there had not been an accident.
On Monday, a fire broke out in a Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines soon after it landed in Boston from Tokyo.
The fire started after a lithium ion battery in the planes auxiliary power unit overheated.
Nobody was hurt as passengers and crew had already disembarked.
The Dreamliner is one of the most advanced fuel efficient planes ever built, with operators confirming its 15 per cent fuel efficiency, however technical issues has hurt its image.
Last year, a United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing because of an electrical problem.
In December, Qatar Airways grounded one of its 787 Dreamliners after several manufacturing faults caused electrical problems similar to those that affected the United plane.
To add to Boeing's woes, the US Federal Aviation Administration said in December that it had identified errors in the assembly of fuel line couplings in the Dreamliner.
It warned that these errors could result in fuel leaking on to hot engine parts and start a fire, cause engine failure, or simply see the plane runout of fuel.
In November, Air India also complained of frequent snags on its 787 fleet, with its first commercial flight itself ending in snag due to a cooling system failure.
But experts suggest that, so far, the glitches don't appear to be anything out of the ordinary for a new and highly complex aircraft.
