787 Makes Emergency Landing.

 

 

Japan's two main airlines have grounded their Boeing 787 Dreamliners after one was forced to make an emergency landing because of battery problems.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) grounded its fleet of 17 Dreamliners when its flight NH 692 from Yamaguchi Ube was forced to land shortly after take-off.

Japan Airlines followed suit, saying it would ground its fleet of seven 787s from 16 January until further notice.

This is the latest setback for Boeing and its problem-hit Dreamliner planes.

In recent weeks, Dreamliners have suffered issues including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire.

"You're nearing the tipping point where they need to regard this as a serious crisis," said Richard Aboulafia, a senior analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia.

"This is going to change people's perception of the aircraft if they don't act quickly."

Battery malfunction

On Wednesday, ANA's flight NH 692 left Yamaguchi Ube in western Japan at 08:10 local time (23:10 GMT) and headed for Tokyo's Haneda airport.

Helicopter Crashes Over London

 
 
Breaking news,  live from London.   Shortly after 8am this morning a helicopter, believed to be an Augusta 109 clipped the top of a crane and crashed down onto the road below engulfing in a fireball.  So far there are no reports of casualties either from the helicopter or on the ground, although early indications are that up to three cars have been caught up on the following fire.
The London Fire Brigade said it had received multiple calls of a helicopter hitting a crane in the Vauxhall area,  not far from the Battersea helicopter centre.  Eyewitness's have reported seeing the helicopter clipping a crane on top of a building under construction and then plummeted straight into the ground before it burst into a ball of flame as the aviation caught alight.
Police sources said they first received calls at 08:00 this morning, London Ambulance Service confirmed it had sent a number of paramedic units to the scene.
It was a misty morning in central London and the building the helicopter hit has been shrouded in mist for some time.  The crane at the top of the building was now hanging down the side of the building, and is now being treated as a second scene by the emergency services.
There are believed to be three cars involved on the ground and at this stage it is unclear if the occupants managed to escape before flames took hold.  Early reports indicate that the helicopter was an Augusta A109 with no passengers on-board, being flown by one pilot.





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New Boss For Virgin

Virgin Atlantic has announced that American Airlines executive Craig Kreeger will be its next chief executive.

Mr Kreeger will take up the job on 1 February, replacing Steve Ridgway, who is retiring after 11 years.

The news comes a month after US carrier Delta Air Lines bought Singapore Airlines' 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360m (£224m).

Dreamliner Review

 

 

US regulators have ordered a review of the 787 Dreamliner plane after a series of incidents put a question mark over the safety of Boeing's flagship plane.  The review by the Federal Aviation Administration will look at the design and manufacture of the planes.

It is not clear whether the planes in the air at the moment will be grounded.   An electrical fire, a brake problem, a fuel spill and cracks in the cockpit's windshield have affected Dreamliner flights in the past week.  "We are absolutely confident in the reliability and performance of the 787," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said. "We are working with the FAA and our customers to ensure we thoroughly understand any introductory issues that arise.  While we take each issue seriously, nothing we've seen in service causes us to doubt the capabilities of the airplane."

More 787 Dreamliner Problems

 

 

It has been confirmed that a brake problem forced an All Nippon Airways flight to be cancelled in Japan  - the third glitch in as many days involving a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

It was scheduled to fly from the Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan to Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

But the domestic flight was grounded by Japan's ANA because brake parts to the rear left undercarriage needed replacing, a spokesman at Yamaguchi Ube Airport said.

An ANA spokeswoman said: "In the cockpit, an error message related to its brake system was displayed.

"The exact nature and the cause of the error message is not clear yet."

All 98 passengers on board were switched to another flight for Tokyo.

On Tuesday, a Japan Airlines jet was grounded at Boston Logan International Airport in the US following a fuel leak, a day after another plane of the same type suffered a fire.

About 40 gallons (150 litres) of fuel spilled from the jet that was supposed to be bound for Tokyo from Boston last night.

On Monday, smoke was spotted in the cabin and cockpit of a JAL Boeing 787