Japan Airlines has grounded one of its Dreamliner jets after it found “white smoke” apparently coming from a battery system during a check-up for departure, the carrier said.
A maintenance staffer saw a warning for a battery system problem as well as white smoke outside the window when working in the cockpit for the plane’s departure for Bangkok yesterday, JAL said.
The grounded plane was replaced with another Boeing 787, which departed as scheduled yesterday with 169 passengers and crew members.
The incident comes a year after battery problems grounded 787s worldwide.
Today JAL said it would continue flying Dreamliners.
“We are making sure of the safety of every plane before its departure. We will continue regular flights (with Dreamliners),” company spokesman Norihisa Hanyu said.
In the problem-hit plane, JAL found one of the eight lithium-ion cells in the battery system had leaked liquid into its container.