Hi Guys

 

Flights at London's Heathrow airport have been disrupted following an incident involving an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

 

No passengers were on board the aircraft, and no injuries have been reported.

The entire Boeing Dreamliner fleet was grounded worldwide in January 2013 following a number of incidents caused by smouldering batteries.

 

The aircraft returned to use in May.

A Heathrow spokesman said: "We can confirm there has been an on-board internal fire involving an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft and the airport's emergency services are in attendance.

"The aircraft was parked on a remote parking stand."

 

The airport is advising passengers to check the status of their flights with the airlines.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "Police at Heathrow were alerted to a fire on a plane. Emergency services are in attendance.

 

"The fire is being treated as unexplained."

Boeing shares fell sharply on the New York Stock Exchange after news broke of the incident.

Battery problems with Dreamliner at the start of 2013 were the latest in a number of production difficulties for the Dreamliner, which has been marketed as a quiet, fuel-efficient aircraft carrying between 201 and 290 passengers on medium-range routes.

 

It should have entered passenger service in 2008 but it was not until October 2011 that the first commercial flight was operated by Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways.

Thomson Airways became the first British carrier to operate the aircraft earlier this week, and is taking delivery of eight of the planes.

 

British Airways is taking delivery of the first two of its 24 Dreamliners, while Virgin Atlantic is due to get the first of its 16 Dreamliners in September next year.

Yeah..if you don't know what the problem is it makes it hard to fix I guess....I might try and avoid flying it for now.

Avoiding everything Ethiopian airlines fly is your safest bet..

The fire started far away from the "Battery Area."  So it was not battery related. Started around mid-plane 4 to 5 hours after flight was completed and plane was parked. So cleaning crew could have not extinguished a cigarette or something like that. Wait until the report comes out b 4 jumping 2 conclusions. Sometimes things r not what they appear 2 b. happy flying.

I think all 787s should be grounded until the cause of this fire is known. Yes, someone might have left a kettle switched on (popular theory!) but until this is known for sure I would be a real nervous passenger on a 787.

Bad luck for Boeing, particularly with the Airbus A350 nearing roll out.  Even if this proves to be unrelated to the airplane's systems, most will just see it as ongoing from the previous electrical issues. At least it was on the ground at the time. I'm just thankful that the airline industry has just a microscopic fraction of the recall issues of the auto industry.

 

I like the fact that Boeing made the 787 instead of just going massive. They made an attempt at making a plane that would deliver a better flying experience and better gas mileage/range instead of trying to stuff as many seats between two wings as possible. I like the concept of a quieter engine, wings shaped to dampen turbulence, enhanced cabin atmosphere (air/humidity/pressure/lighting), etc. Those are all benefits to the traveler, not just a bottom line factor for the airline. Now, if they can just keep them from combusting...