Japan's two biggest airlines on Wednesday grounded all their Dreamliners in the most serious blow yet to Boeing's troubled next-generation model after an ANA flight was forced into an emergency landing.

The 787 Dreamliner has suffered more than a week of bad news that has prompted safety investigations by three national aviation regulators, although Boeing insists the plane is safe.

All Nippon Airways -- the world's first carrier to receive the Dreamliner from Boeing after years of delays -- said a battery problem triggered a cockpit error message that forced the pilots to land the plane in southwestern Japan.

ANA said instruments on the Dreamliner had detected smoke in a forward electrical compartment, and Japanese Transport Minister Akihiro Ota said it was a "serious incident that could have led to a serious accident".

Both Ota's ministry and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration broadened existing probes into the Dreamliner to encompass the ANA incident. 

Authorities in India said Wednesday they were starting their own investigation. Both ANA and its rival Japan Airlines (JAL) -- which are among Boeing's biggest customers for the Dreamliner -- said they would ground their entire 787 fleets pending safety checks.

ANA has 17 Dreamliners in operation and JAL has seven, and both have dozens more on order in deals worth billions of dollars for Boeing. Australia's Qantas said it was sticking by an order for 15 Dreamliners for its Jetstar affiliate.

ANA said 129 passengers and eight crew were on board the flight, which was headed from Ube in the far west to Tokyo when it diverted mid-flight to an airport in Takamatsu, on Japan's fourth largest island of Shikoku.

Police reported several "slight injuries" such as scratches after those aboard evacuated the plane via emergency chutes at Takamatsu, as fire trucks deployed on the ground. 

One passenger was quoted by broadcaster NHK as saying he "smelled something strange" after take-off and feared the plane was going to crash.
Last week, there was a battery fire and smoke on an empty Dreamliner flight operated by JAL on the ground in the U.S. city of Boston.

JAL said the smoke on that flight was traced to a fire from the battery used for the Dreamliner's auxiliary power unit, located at the rear of the plane.
Wednesday's incident involved the forward battery for the main power unit, ANA said.

"It is true that the aircraft has recently seen a series of troubles," ANA spokeswoman Naoko Yamamoto said after the emergency landing. "But we cannot say if this has something in common with previous problems."
Boeing said after the Takamatsu incident: "We will be working with our customers and the appropriate regulatory agencies."

The high-profile incidents over the past week are the latest issues to dog the aircraft, after production glitches delayed delivery of the first plane to ANA by three years to 2011.

The problems bloomed last week with the small fire on the JAL flight after it had landed in Boston from Tokyo. That incident was followed by a fuel leak on another JAL Dreamliner, also in Boston.

A cracked cockpit window then forced the cancellation of a Dreamliner flight in Japan before a JAL-operated plane suffered a fuel spill on Sunday at Tokyo's Narita Airport.

On Friday the FAA in the United States announced an in-depth safety review of the 787's "design, manufacture and assembly". But Boeing insists that it has "complete confidence" in the plane.

Considered a milestone in the aviation industry with its use of lightweight composite materials and electronics instead of aluminium and hydraulics, some 50 of the U.S. aerospace giant's 787s are in service worldwide.
Boeing, which outsourced much of the production to Japanese and other contractors, says the plane's impressive fuel efficiency represents a revolution in aircraft design.

But questions about its safety, and the U.S. and Japanese government reviews, have the potential to affect sales. Boeing has more than 800 Dreamliners on order. (AFP)



<관련 한글 기사>


일본, 보잉 드림라이너 운항 전면 중지해

일본의 전일본항공사와 일본항공이 자사의 보잉 787 드림라이너 운항을 전면 중지한다. 일본항공사의 보잉 드림라이너에 결함이 발생해 비상 착륙한 뒤 이러한 결정을 내렸다.

세계 최초로 보잉 드림라이너를 운항한 전일본항공사는 배터리 부분의 문제로 드림라이너가 운항을 중지했다고 밝혔다. “매우 심각한 사태를 유발할 수 있었다”라고 관계자는 덧붙였다.

두 항공사는 운항 중지 후 대대적인 안전점검을 할 예정이라고 밝혔다.

보잉 드림라이너를 탔던 한 승객은 일본 국영방송 NHK와의 인터뷰에서 비상착륙 후 “이상한 냄새를 맡았다”며 비행기가 추락할 것 같은 위협을 받았다라고 전했다.

한편 전일본항공사의 나오코 야마모토 대변인은 “드림라이너가 요 근래 문제가 여러 번 생긴건 맞습다. 하지만 당시 결함에 공통적으로 나타났던 부분은 없습다” 라고 언급했다.

지난 주 일본항공에서 운영하는 보잉 드림라이너에도 문제가 발생했다. 도쿄에서 보스턴으로 비행하던 비행기는 착륙 후 작은 화재가 발생했다. 이는 또다른 보스턴행 비행기의 연료 누출 이후로 일어난 일이다.

지난 금요일 미국 연방항공청은 보잉 787 드림라이너의 안전점검을 심도있게 진행할 예정을 밝혔다. 하지만 보잉사는 비행기에는 결함을 찾아볼 수 없을 것이다라고 밝혔다.

일본을 비롯한 세계 각국에 비행기를 수출하는 보잉사는 드림라이너의 획기적인 연료 절감 효과는 항공기 디자인에 있어 혁명을 가져다줄 것이라는 자신감을 보인 바 있다.

하지만 연이어 일어나는 안전사고가 800대의 수주를 받아놓은 보잉사의 드림라이너 매출에 영향을 끼칠 것으로 나타난다. (코리아헤럴드)