Japan Airlines 787 Fuel Leak Second Incident This Week
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Duncan Chard/Bloomberg via Getty Images(BOSTON) — A Japan Airlines Boeing 787 was towed back to the gate at Boston’s Logan airport Tuesday after a fuel leak from its number one engine. There was no fire onboard, according to LiveATC.net. It’s the second incident involving one of Boeing’s brand new Dreamliner planes in as many days for the airline.
The plane, a 787 on a daily flight to Tokyo, was scheduled to depart Boston at 12 p.m., carrying 178 passengers and 11 crew. No one was injured in the fuel incident.
The FAA last month ordered inspections of potential fuel-line leaks on all 787s.
“A mechanical issue was reported by the crew on today’s flight JL007 08JAN, and the aircraft is now returning to the gate. Details of the mechanical are not yet confirmed,” the airline said in a statement.
The incident comes just one day after a fire broke out on an empty Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet in Boston’s Logan Airport after a non-stop flight from Tokyo, prompting more safety concerns about the new plane since its 2011 release.
Monday’s incident occurred when an electrical fire broke out on board the Japan Airlines jet 30 minutes after 173 passengers and 11 crew members exited the plane. The Massachusetts Port Authority’s fire chief, Bob Donahue, said the fire began in a battery pack for the plane’s auxiliary power unit, which runs the jet’s electrical systems when it’s not getting power from its engines.
No major injuries were reported and one firefighter had skin irritation after contact with a chemical used to douse the fire, Donahue said.
The flight landed incident-free around 10:15 a.m., but a mechanic working in the cockpit was confronted minutes later by smoke billowing from electrical systems in the belly of the plane.
“We observed a heavy smoke condition throughout the entire cabin,” Donahue said.
Fire crews using infrared equipment found the flames in a small compartment in the plane’s belly and had the fire out in about 20 minutes, he said. There was a flare-up later when a battery exploded, he added.
Japan Airlines said in a statement Monday, “Safety is the foundation of JAL’s operations and while no passengers were injured in this incident, we deeply apologize for causing our customers concern and inconvenience. We are now working closely with NTSB and Boeing in determining the cause of this incident.”
The National Transportation Safety Board said it’s sending an investigator to Boston.
“We’re aware of the situation and are working with our customer,” Boeing said in a statement.
Boeing has sold more than 800 of the planes around the world with only six flying domestically.
The plane, mostly made of carbon fiber, was first released in 2011.
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