Another 787 fire closes Heathrow temporarily

[gwilli1]

LONDON -- A fire on an empty Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane forced Heathrow Airport to close both its runways Friday, suspending all arrivals and departures.The airport said in a tweet that there were no passengers aboard the Ethiopian Airlines plane, and British police said the fire is being treated as unexplained. London's fire department said its firefighters were on standby to assist Heathrow's crews.Television images showed nearly a dozen fire trucks on the scene and firefighters standing around the Ethiopian Airlines plane, which was parked on a remote stand.Fire-retardant foam appeared to have been sprayed, but no damage to the plane was immediately apparent.The incident is likely to heap more pressure on Boeing Co., which makes the Dreamliner.

London's Heathrow Airport Closes Runways Due To Plane Fire On Ethiopian Airlines​

 

[Mal]

Could be a cigarette. Could be an electrical fault. Either way Boeing needs to very quickly work out what happened...

 

[cove]

We are feeling lucky to have landed prior to the closure. There were no issues with our big bird and the Krug and caviar were nice touches.
I think we might delay our first 787 flight!

 

[Must...Fly!]

Speculation hat on...

Fire seems to have been at the back of the aircraft so a problem with the batteries seems rather unlikely. I suspect it was caused by faulty electrical/wiring systems in the IFE or in the galley which might have caused some ovens to turn on...

Speculation hat off...

 

[gwilli1]

Quite possibly the case .... but it will still be another setback in building confidence back into the 787 program.

 

[scaredeycat]

Another Dreamliner catches fire

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/201...ock:Network front - main trailblock:Position4

The nightmare for Boeing and its customers continues...

 

[Mal]

Re: Another Dreamliner catches fire

Indeed!

BTW. http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/showthread.php?t=52162

 

[markis10]

Could be a hull loss looking at the damage, will be a big repair regardless.

 

[Ansett]

Could be a hull loss looking at the damage, will be a big repair regardless.

A Hull loss Really?

If so that would be unreal and not good news for Boeing and the 787 a hull loss in its first year.

Do we have another Comet here?

 

[markis10]

A Hull loss Really?

If so that would be unreal and not good news for Boeing and the 787 a hull loss in its first year.

Do we have another Comet here?

Considering its burnt through to the crown and composite skin melts at a minimum of 649F, what we see on the outside is not the whole picture.

 

[Ansett]

Im thinking that perhaps the 787 is one to avoid for a little while longer.

OT

Was reading that Thomson Airways in the UK charges its customer an Extra 10 pound per flight to fly the 787 I wonder if they will get a refund given that there flight had to return to manchester today due to a technical fault

 

[The Rok]

Im thinking that perhaps the 787 is one to avoid for a little while longer.

OT

Was reading that Thomson Airways in the UK charges its customer an Extra 10 pound per flight to fly the 787 I wonder if they will get a refund given that there flight had to return to manchester today due to a technical fault

Didn't Thompson also have an issue that forced the landing of a 787 last night? Pretty sure I read that on sky news this morning.

 

[Ansett]

Didn't Thompson also have an issue that forced the landing of a 787 last night? Pretty sure I read that on sky news this morning.

Yes here is the link and apologise as I was refering to this on my post


Florida-bound Thomson Boeing 787 Dreamliner forced to return to Manchester Airport after a 'technical issue' - Manchester Evening News

 

[markis10]

Didn't Thompson also have an issue that forced the landing of a 787 last night? Pretty sure I read that on sky news this morning.

They also had an A330 turn back, not newsworthy!

 

[jb747]

Speculation hat on...Fire seems to have been at the back of the aircraft so a problem with the batteries seems rather unlikely. I suspect it was caused by faulty electrical/wiring systems in the IFE or in the galley which might have caused some ovens to turn on...Speculation hat off...

Just as likely to be a meteor strike.The lithium batteries are located below the front doors, and approximately in line with the trailing edge of the wings.The damage is roughly in the area where the overhead cabin crew rest is. It's not unknown for people to try to cover any annoying lights in these areas......

 

[Ansett]

I see what you mean about the burn it looks quite severe

 

[serfty]

View attachment 17013


I see what you mean about the burn it looks quite severe

Ouch! You can't just fix these composite material aircraft with a double row of rivets.

 

[Mal]

Didn't Thompson also have an issue that forced the landing of a 787 last night? Pretty sure I read that on sky news this morning.

Probably the same incident... But don't worry about the pax. EU compo should give the passengers a nice rebate.

 

[Ansett]

A close up of the damage. Dont think this bird will be flying anywhere real soon!

 

[straitman]

See the link for more of the story.

Ethiopian 787 In Heathrow Fire Incident


By Anthony Osborne [email protected], Guy Norris [email protected]
Source: AWIN First

July 12, 2013
Credit: Boeing

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 was severely damaged by fire today at London Heathrow Airport, although the fire does not appear to be connected with the lithium-ion battery problems which grounded all 787s earlier this year.

The fire, understood to have broken out shortly before 5 p.m., occurred while the aircraft was parked on a remote stand in the western part of the airport prior to the scheduled 9 p.m. departure of the airline’s flight ET701 to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

The aircraft had been parked at the airport for 8 hr. prior to the fire.

Images of the incident indicate that the blaze occurred in the aft fuselage, close to the rear galley and crew rest area near doors L3 and R3. Evidence of charring is visible in the crown section at the base of the fin close to the structural junction of the aft fuselage Section 47 with the mid-fuselage section.

It is not yet known where the fire originated, or the extent of the structural damage inside the fuselage. There were no passengers on board and Heathrow officials have said there are no reported injuries.

The aircraft involved is ET-AOP (L/N44), which was the first 787 to restart operations in mid-April following the fleet-wide grounding.

The incident forced Heathrow to be closed and disrupted flights were diverted to Luton, Stansted and Gatwick airport while emergency services tackled the blaze, news of which prompted Boeing’s share price to temporarily tumble 7%. Operations resumed again at Heathrow around 6 p.m.