A Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner remains grounded at the Narita airport in Tokyo a day after white smoke was seen billowing out of a battery compartment. And Boeing has confirmed that one of the lithium-ion battery cells onboard overheated while the plane was parked on the tarmac.
The news of the battery failure comes just over a year after another 787, also owned by Japan Airlines, parked at the Boston Logan airport suffered a similar battery overheating issue that eventually caused the grounding of all 50 Dreamliners for more than three months as Boeing fought to find a fix.
This latest incident took place while the 787 was undergoing maintenance, with no passengers on board, and according to Boeing, a single cell had released gases, causing a warning system to go off.
"The improvements made to the 787 battery system last year appear to have worked as designed," Boeing said in a statement.
It's the first time the 787 has suffered a battery issue since Boeing updated all Dreamliner lithium-ion packs last year, with new vents, piping, and insulation that would prevent a thermal runaway and fire.
The original cause of the first round of battery issues remains unknown, but since the fix was installed in the existing Dreamliners, the number of 787s taking to the skies has more than doubled, with 115 planes operated by 16 carriers around the world.
