Light and fuel-efficient, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner was meant to be the pride of the company's passenger jet fleet.
But an emergency landing yesterday in Japan, and the subsequent grounding by two major Japanese airlines of all their Dreamliner jets, is the latest in a series of incidents to heighten safety concerns over a plane many see as the future of commercial aviation.
All Nippon Airways - the world's first carrier to receive the Dreamliner after years of delays - said smoke caused possibly by a faulty battery forced the pilots to land the passenger plane in Takamatsu, southwestern Japan.
The incident, described by a transport ministry official as "highly serious" - language used in international safety circles as indicating there could have been an accident - is the latest in a line of mishaps, including fuel leaks, a battery fire, wiring problem, brake computer glitch and cracked cockpit window, to hit the world's first mainly carbon-composite airliner in recent days.
ANA's rival Japan Airlines (JAL) - among Boeing's biggest customers for the Dreamliner - said it would also ground its entire 787 fleets for at least a day. ANA and JAL operate around half of the 50 Dreamliners delivered by Boeing to date.
Boeing was "nearing the tipping point where they need to regard this as a serious crisis", said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group, advisers on commercial and military aviation projects. "This is going to change people's perception of the aircraft if they don't act quickly."
The 787, which has a list price of US$207 million, represents a leap in the way planes are designed and built, but the project has been plagued by cost overruns and years of delays. Some have suggested Boeing's rush to get planes built after those delays resulted in the recent problems, a charge the company denies.
Both the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they were monitoring the latest incident as part of the review of the Dreamliner announced late last week.
ANA flight 692 left Yamaguchi in western Japan shortly after 8am bound for Haneda Airport near Tokyo, a 65-minute flight. About 18 minutes later, at 9,100 metres, the plane began a descent, cutting its altitude to 6,100 metres in about four minutes. It made an emergency landing 16 minutes later at Takamatsu.
All 129 passengers and eight crew evacuated via the plane's inflatable chutes. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said five people were slightly injured. Passengers spoke of an odour like burning plastic on the plane as soon as it took off.
A Boeing spokesman, said: "We've seen the reports, we're aware of the events and are working with our customer."
In Asia, only the Japanese and Air India have the Dreamliner in service, but other airlines are among those globally to have ordered around 850 of the new aircraft. Australia's Qantas Airways said its order for 15 Dreamliners remained on track for deliveries starting later this year.
The Dreamliner's problems echo those of rival Airbus, which a year ago survived a crisis of public confidence after a series of incidents involving the A380, the world's largest passenger jet. Those problems tested its relations with airlines, but no orders were cancelled.
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