Boeing 787 fire 'wiring link'

Boeing said it is "supporting the actions by regulators" following a blaze on one of the company's 787 Dreamliner jets at Heathrow airport last week:

US officials investigating the fire on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet at Heathrow airport last week are focused on how condensation in the plane and a possible pinched wire in an emergency beacon may have sparked the blaze, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will call for inspections of the beacons made by the Fortune 100 firm Honeywell, but stopped short of requiring airlines to disable or remove the devices as the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch recommended.

The FAA said inspections should ensure wires are properly routed and should look for pinched wires or signs of unusual moisture or heat. It gave no further details on how those factors may have contributed to the fire.

But a source told Reuters that investigators had found a pinched wire in the casing of the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight.

Read: Boeing 787 fire 'wiring link'

Read: Investigators call for review of 787 emergency beacons

There has been a number of Boeing 787 Dreamliner faults and groundings since the plane hailed as the most environmentally friendly took to the skies.

In July 2012, a fan shaft on an engine failed during tests in South Carolina.

In December of the same year, an United Airline Dreamliner made an emergency landing in New Orleans due to electrical problems.

More recently, a Dreamliner bound for Florida returned to Manchester airport after developing a fault.

Read: Timeline of Boeing 787 Dreamliner faults and groundings

UK air accident investigators have said all emergency locator beacons in Boeing 787 Dreamliners should be disconnected after a blaze on an Ethiopian Airlines jet at Heathrow.

The report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, it was caused by a fire in the transmitter- made by US firm Honeywell - located in the upper portion of the rear fuselage.

There are no other aircraft system in this area of the plane which, with the aircraft unpowered, contained stored energy capable of causing such a fire, the agency said.

Investigators also called for a safety review of lithium-powered emergency locator beacons in all aircraft types.

According to the report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch who is leading the investigation into a fire on a parked Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner plane at Heathrow last Friday.

UK investigators say the source of a fire on an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Heathrow last week was a battery for an emergency beacon.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is recommending that all emergency locator beacons in Boeing 787s should be switched off.