Boeing’s Dreamliner Nightmare Continues

Credit: Dave Granlund

LAST UPDATED: 1/14/14 (see below)

On the same day the City of North Charleston approved a tax break for the company, Boeing is dealing with two more issues with its 787 Dreamliner airplanes.

London’s Heathrow airport temporarily closed its runways today after an empty Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner caught fire. The cause of the fire is currently a mystery and may not even be Boeing’s fault, but it’s another concerning incident for the company.

Shortly after the Heathrow fire, another Dreamliner traveling to the US from England had to turn around after experiencing a “technical issue.”

These latest issues add to the rapidly-growing list of problems the airline has experienced since the airliner was first introduced in 2012. Most notably, the entire global fleet was grounded in January after issues with batteries overheating in some of the planes came to light.

Hopefully, Boeing will use the money saved from that generous North Charleston tax break to make an airplane that actually works. This problems are inexcusable – the transportation industry can not have “growing pains.”

Here’s a look at the Boeing’s Dreamliner Nightmare (most recent issues first):

LAST UPDATE: 1/14/14

• 1/14/14
  • Gas was discovered coming out of a battery on a plane parked in Tokyo (Post & Courier).
• 11/4/13
  • Windshield of Air India Dreamliner cracks during landing at Melbourne (India Today).
• 10/12/13
  • Body panel falls off Boeing 787 Dreamliner in flight (Reuters)
• 10/9/13
  • Boeing 787 diverted back to San Diego with possible deicing problem (News 2).
• 10/9/13
  • An electrical glitch made six toilets unusable on a Moscow to Tokyo flight (BBC News).
• 9/28/13
  • A LOT 787 had to divert to due to a faulty self identification system (Reuters).
  • Norwegian Long Haul took one of its two 787s out of service after it broke down on more than six occasions in September (Reuters).
• 9/25/13
  • Five Dreamliners owned by LOT were grounded because they were missing fuel filters (Wall Street Journal).
• 7/12/13
  • Dreamliner has “unexplained fire” that closes Heathrow Airport runways (Live 5 News).
  • Dreamliner traveling to the US from England had to turn around after experiencing a “technical issue.” (ABC News 4).
• 7/11/13
  • Dreamliner Flight Canceled Prior To Takeoff with “indicator device” issue (Huffington Post).
• 6/28/13
  • Dreamliner held in Japan due to A/C power glitch (CNN).

• 6/23/13

  • Emergency Landing in Houston due to a brake indicator light that incorrectly indicated there was an issue (ABC News)

• 6/21/13
  • London-to-Houston flight diverted to Newark over low engine oil indicator (USA Today).
• 6/19/13
  • Denver-to-Tokyo flight diverted to Seattle because of an oil filter issue (USA Today).
• 6/12/13
  • Japan from Ube to Tokyo was canceled when the right-side engine wouldn’t start (FOX News).
• 6/11/13
  • Flight to Singapore returned to Tokyo after takeoff because of a problem with the deicing system (FOX News).
• 1/16/13
  • Japan’s two main airlines have grounded their Boeing 787 Dreamliners after one was forced to make an emergency landing because of battery problems (BBC News).
• 1/9/13
  • United Airlines reported a problem with the wiring in the same area as the battery fire from 1/7/13. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board opened a safety probe (Wikipedia via Wall Street Journal).
• 1/8/13

  • Aircraft forced to return to its gate minutes before taking off from due to a fuel leak (New York Times).

• 1/7/13
  • 787 Dreamliner catches fire at Boston’s Logan Airport (NBC News).
• 12/4/12

  • United 787 Loses Speed and Lands Early (New York Times).

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us