All Nippon Airways is grounding its fleet of 787 aircraft after a Tokyo-bound Dreamliner made an emergency landing in southern Japan Wednesday after smoke appeared in the cockpit and instruments indicated a battery error, Reuters reported.
NSK, the state news agency, reported that all 137 passengers aboard the flight were safely evacuated via emergency chutes.
The emergency landing was the latest in a string of problems beleaguering Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner superjet and comes after the Federal Aviation Administration announced its intention to review the plane's design, manufacture and assembly.
The plane — Boeing's first to use rechargeable lithium ion batteries and to be constructed with lightweight composite materials — has been involved in several emergencies in just the last two weeks.
Last Monday, an electrical fire ignited in a Japan Airlines flight that had no passengers on board. A day later, a fuel leak on another of that airline's 787s forced the cancellation of take-off in Boston. And just a day after that, Japan's All Nippon Airways said it was forced to cancel a 787 flight of its own due to brake problems.
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