There were more problems for Boeing's troubled 787 Dreamliner on
Friday - one was grounded, an oven overheated in another and damage was
found in wiring on two other planes as pressure mounted on Boeing over
possible new electrical problems with the advanced jet.
Qatar Airways said it had taken one of its Dreamliners out of service following what it described as a "minor" technical issue.
The
airline and Boeing declined to give further details but industry
sources said they were treating seriously reports that the aircraft had
been grounded for days after smoke was seen near an electrical panel.
According
to web-tracking service Flightaware, the aircraft, registered as
A7-BCB, has not flown since Sunday, an unusually long downtime for a
long-haul jet designed to save fuel bills.
Qatar Airways
confirmed an aircraft had been taken out of service, but said no flights
had been canceled as a result. "This is a minor issue for us, and not
an incident, so we are not commenting," an airline spokeswoman said.
A spokeswoman for Boeing said, "We request that you channel all your enquiries to Qatar Airways."
Two
people familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified, said
smoke had been reported near an electrical compartment while the jet was
on the ground in Doha. A failure in a similar bay caused an fire during
a test flight in 2010.
A fire-brigade supervisor in Doha said it did not have any record of an incident with an airport-related call last week.
India's
aviation regulator said earlier it had started an investigation after
an oven in a 787 operated by Air India overheated during a domestic
flight, causing smoke.
There was no interruption to services.
And
Japan's ANA, which operates the world's biggest fleet of Dreamliners,
also said on Friday it had found damage to the battery wiring on two 787
locator beacons.
Tests have been ordered on the beacons after a
parked Ethiopian Airlines-owned Dreamliner caught fire at London's
Heathrow this month, causing extensive damage to the plane.
The global fleet of Dreamliners was grounded for three months earlier this year due to battery-related incidents.
Aviation
experts say it is common for the reported number of incidents to rise
when an aircraft is in the spotlight. Aircraft regularly suffer glitches
that go unreported and rarely pose a direct threat to safety.
However,
aviation experts say U.S. and British authorities investigating the
previous fires may seek to establish whether anything can be learned
from a pattern of reported incidents connected in various ways to the
jet's electrical systems.
Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney
said this week he remained "highly confident" in the future of the 787
program and the integrity of the company's newest airplane.
The
787 incorporates a raft of changes in the way passenger jets are
designed, including greater use of electrical systems that save weight
compared to older hydraulics. It is the first passenger jet built mainly
from lightweight carbon-composites.
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