FAA grounds Boeing 787s for safety check on batteries

Washington, DC, United States (4E) – The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday ordered all Boeing 787 planes in the U.S. grounded until operators ensure that its batteries are safe.

United Airlines, the only U.S. carrier with 787s or Dreamliners, said it will accommodate passengers on other planes as it complies with the FAA’s directive to prove there is no fire risk from the aircraft’s batteries.

The FAA directive follows Japan’s grounding of the 787 fleets of Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) in response to an emergency landing of an ANA Dreamliner earlier Wednesday.

The incident in Takamatsu was linked to a battery overheating that reportedly caused smoke in the cockpit. Several of the 137 passengers and crew were slightly injured while evacuating the plane through the emergency slides.

ANA has 17 787s while JAL has seven making the two airlines the operators of the most number of Dreamliners.

Meanwhile, Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney issued a statement saying the company will take steps to assure the public that its 787s are safe and to restore the service immediately.

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