FAA Grounds Boeing 787s Over Battery Trouble

Move comes after spate of problems overseas with Dreamliner
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 16, 2013 5:59 PM CST
FAA Grounds Boeing 787s Over Battery Trouble
An All Nippon Airways flight sits at Takamatsu airport in Takamatsu, Japan, after it made an emergency landing. A cockpit message showed battery problems.   (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Federal officials say they are grounding Boeing's 787 Dreamliners until the risk of possible battery fires is addressed. The FAA said today it will issue an emergency safety order requiring airlines to temporarily cease operating the 787, Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced plane. The agency said it will work with Boeing and US air carriers to develop a plan allowing 787s to "resume operations as quickly and safely as possible."

United Airlines is the only US carrier with 787s. It has six. Only days ago, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declared the plane safe. But after an emergency landing in Japan early today, two Japanese airlines voluntarily grounded their 787s. That move followed a series of earlier mishaps. (More Boeing 787 Dreamliner stories.)

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