The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the battery aboard a Japan Airlines Co. 787 jet that caught fire in Boston Monday had "severe fire damage" to components and structures within about 20 inches.
The agency said the problems were in the aft electrical bay of the Boeing Co. jet, and affected the auxiliary power unit, which was in operation at the time of the fire reported around 10:30 am ET Monday.
The incident occurred just after the plane landed from a flight from Tokyo. Smoke was seen in the cabin, the NTSB said. The fire was put out about 40 minutes rescue and fire crews first arrived, it added.
A second incident, a fuel leak on Tuesday, forced another 787 operated by JAL to cancel its takeoff and return to the gate at Boston's Logan International Airport, a fire official said.
The leak occurred on a different plane than the 787 that experienced an electrical fire Monday at Logan, said Richard Walsh, a Massport spokesman.
The fuel-leaking plane had left the gate in preparation for takeoff on a flight to Tokyo when the fuel spill of about 40 gallons was discovered, Walsh said. No fire or injuries occurred, he said.
The plane was towed back to the gate, where passengers disembarked and were waiting for a decision on whether the flight would leave, he said.
"The airline will make that determination," Walsh said.
A spokeswoman for Japan Airlines, Carol Anderson, said the plane had returned to the gate because of a mechanical issue, but said exact details were not yet confirmed.
Boeing said it was aware of the issue and was working with its customer.
The NTSB this issue wouldn't warrant an investigation because there was no accident.
In December, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections of 787s after fuel leaks were found on two aircraft operated by foreign airlines. The leaks stemmed from incorrectly assembled fuel line couplings, which could result in loss of power or engine fire, the FAA said.
Boeing shares were down 2.8 percent at $73.98 in late trading. It fell 2 percent on Monday.
Walsh, the Massport spokesman, said the leak was noticed at 12:25 pm ET Tuesday, as the flight, JAL 007, was taxiing toward the runway for takeoff. Crews used an absorbent to soak up the spilled fuel, Walsh said.
Some analysts had raised concerns about Boeing's jet after the JAL 787 suffered an electrical fire on Monday. Today's fuel leak caused further alarm about the impact on public perceptions of Boeing and the plane.
"We're getting to a tipping point where they go from needing to rectify problems to doing major damage control to the image of the company and the plane," said Richard Aboulafia, a defense and aerospace analyst with Teal Group, a consulting firm based in Fairfax, Virginia.
"While they delivered a large and unexpected number of 787s last year, it's possible that they should have instead focused on identifying glitches and flaws, rather than pushing ahead with volume production," he said.
Aboulafia said there is still no indication that the plane itself is flawed.
"It's just a question of how quickly they can get all the onboard technologies right, and whether or not the 787 and Boeing brands will be badly damaged," he said.
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Dreamliner fuel leak is 2nd incident in 2 days
