BRITISH authorities have recommended that distress beacons on board all Boeing Dreamliners be disabled, after identifying the devices as the likely cause of a fire on a 787 at London's Heathrow airport.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said on Thursday that detailed analysis of the Honeywell emergency location transmitter system on the new generation plane "has shown some indications of disruption to the battery cells".
"It is not clear, however, whether the combustion in the area of the ELT was initiated by a release of energy within the batteries or by an external mechanism such as an electrical short," it said.
Pending further investigations, it recommended all Honeywell transmitters be removed from the Dreamliners and urged aviation regulators to review lithium-powered devices installed in other types of aircraft.
In a statement, Boeing said it supported the recommendations, "which we think are reasonable precautionary measures to take as the investigation proceeds".
Nobody was hurt when the fire broke out on Friday on an empty Ethiopian Airlines plane parked at Heathrow airport.
Boeing was dealt another blow on Thursday when a Japan Airlines 787 that left Boston for Tokyo turned back because of a possible pump problem, the company said.
"As a standard precautionary measure due to a maintenance message (fuel pump) indicator, JL007 bound for Tokyo-Narita decided to return to Boston Logan for check and landed safely," Carol Anderson, a US-based JAL spokeswoman, told AFP in an email.
Boeing withdrew from service its entire fleet of Dreamliners earlier this year due to separate concerns that lithium-ion batteries on board could cause fires.
A total of 68 Dreamliners have so far been delivered, and the AAIB recommended to the US Federal Aviation Administration that the transmitter systems in all of them be disabled.
It also recommended that the FAA and other regulatory authorities "conduct a safety review of installations of lithium-powered emergency locator transmitter systems in other aircraft types and, where appropriate, initiate airworthiness action".
The AAIB's report does not mean the Dreamliner fleet need be grounded.
All planes carrying passengers in the United States are required to have a distress beacon, and the devices are widely used around the globe.
But under US rules, operators can fly with inoperative transmitters for up to 90 days while they await replacement or repairs. Similar regulations apply in Europe and other parts of the world.
Boeing said it was working "proactively" to respond to the recommendations, and the report did not appear to worry investors. Boeing's shares in New York gained 2.84 per cent to 107.7 dollars at 1605 GMT.
"We are confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity," the company said.
In another development, a United Airlines Boeing 777 bound for Amsterdam was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing in Houston after the plane's second engine shut down.
There were no injuries or further problems upon landing, United spokesman Luke Punzenberger said on Thursday.
"As a precautionary measure, Flight 58 from Houston to Amsterdam returned to IAH because the crew identified an issue with one of the engines.
"The Boeing 777 aircraft, which was carrying 223 passengers and 15 crew, landed safely and without incident in Houston at 5.13pm" local time (0813 AEST Friday), the statement said, adding that the aircraft was being reviewed by maintenance staff.
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