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A Boston Fire Department official looks into the cargo area of a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet parked at a Terminal E gate at Logan International Airport on Monday after a small electrical fire.(Photo: Stephan Savoia, AP)

Story Highlights

It?s the first commercial aircraft to be made mostly of lightweight carbon
Had problems from the start with multiple preproduction delays
Federal Aviation Administration says it is looking into recent incidents

The jetliner of the future is facing problems here and now.

On Tuesday, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner destined for Tokyo had to return to the gate at Boston?s Logan International Airport because of a fuel leak.

It was the second technical problem faced by the much-celebrated aircraft in two days. On Monday, a battery used to power another 787 when the engine is turned off on the ground caught on fire.

The Dreamliner has taken to the skies the last year with fanfare as it?s the first commercial aircraft to be made largely of lightweight carbon composites rather than conventional aluminum and steel. Airlines around the world have jumped at the chance to buy the fuel- and cost-efficient planes, and Boeing has plans to roll out another 800 or more of them.

But it has had problems from the start with multiple preproduction delays. And last month, United Airlines and Qatar Airways had to divert or ground planes because of electrical issues on an aircraft that relies more on electricity than air pressure.

The incidents have prompted some analysts to question the plane?s reliability.

?While I don?t think this is yet a 787 fleet-grounding issue, it does raise questions about ? quality control,? says Robert Mann, an airline analyst with R.W. Mann and Co.

Tuesday?s incident involved Japan Airlines Flight 007 to Tokyo. As it was taxiing at about 12:25 p.m. for a 1 p.m. departure, the pilot of another plane noticed fuel leaking from the left wing, says Matthew Brelis, a spokesman for Massport, which runs Logan airport.

The plane was towed back to the gate, where maintenance crews and a contractor cleaned up what is estimated to be about 40 gallons of fuel.

Brelis says that it is not uncommon for pilots to dump fuel from time to time. The fuel was leaking from a vent, which is an area where such dumping would happen. ?It?s not like it was a leak in the fuel line,? he says.

Passengers were deplaned and held in a secure area until the plane was able to take off at 3:47 p.m., says Japan Airlines spokeswoman Carol Anderson.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it is looking into both incidents.

With Mount Rainier in the background, the first scheduled Boeing 787 airplane to depart from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport takes off Oct. 2, 2012, in Seattle.(Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is not going to investigate the incident, spokesman Eric Weiss says. ?It is a maintenance issue, not an accident,? he says.

The NTSB did, however, send three investigators to Boston to investigate Monday?s fire involving Japan Airlines Flight 008, which landed around 10 a.m. Maintenance and cleaning crews detected smoke in the cabin after passengers had gotten off the plane.

On Tuesday, the NTSB said in a preliminary report that the battery had caught on fire in the plane?s auxiliary power unit, which is used when the jet?s engines are turned off.

Firefighters discovered a fire in the electronics and equipment bay near the power unit?s battery box, the NTSB?s report says.

The fire was extinguished in about 40 minutes. A firefighter had minor injuries. No passengers were injured.

This is an important year for Boeing as it tries to recover from production delays and deliver the aircraft. So far, 49 have been delivered. The aircraft debuted with All Nippon Airways in October 2011. United Airlines became the first U.S. airline to fly the plane in November.

?TEETHING PROBLEMS?

The latest setbacks unnerved Wall Street. Boeing shares lost $ 2 to $ 74.13 on Tuesday, a 2.6% drop. In two days concerns about the Dreamliner have helped shave $ 2.7 billion off Boeing?s stock market value to $ 55.9 billion.

It is not the first time a Dreamliner has had a fuel leak. The Federal Aviation Administration last month ordered inspections of all 787 Dreamliners in service in the U.S. to make sure that fuel-line connectors had been installed correctly after two foreign airlines reported fuel leaks.

Problems also were reported on United and Qatar airlines? Dreamliners last month.

A United flight Dec. 4 from Houston to Newark made an emergency landing in New Orleans after a power generator failed, and another flight Dec. 17 developed electrical issues. Qatar Airlines grounded one of its Dreamliners on Dec. 13 because of concerns about the electronics.

Those incidents didn?t spark NTSB investigations. But the NTSB did make two urgent safety recommendations Sept. 14 to repair General Electric engines that are on Dreamliners and other planes.

Firefighters and airport officials investigate after a Boeing 787 jetliner made an emergency landing Nov. 9, 2010, at the Laredo International Airport in Laredo, Texas.(Photo: Ricardo Santos, AP)

The recommendations came after a July 28 engine failure occurred during a taxi test and caused a grass fire at the airport in Charleston, S.C.

Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said Tuesday that the company was looking into this week?s incident. But, she said, Monday?s fire did not seem connected to December?s issues.

?Nothing that we?ve seen in this case indicates a relationship to any previous 787 power-system events, which involved power panel faults,? Gunter says.

She says Boeing is cooperating with the NTSB on Monday?s fire and previous events. Gunter did not comment on Tuesday?s fuel leak.

?Before providing more detail, we will give our technical teams the time they need to do a thorough job and ensure we are dealing with facts not speculation,? she says.

John Hansman, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, says he does not think the incidents should prompt airlines to give up on the Dreamliner.

?Teething problems like this are not unusual for a new aircraft like this which is pushing the envelope in terms of technology,? he says.

Tuesday?s fuel leak seems to have nothing to do with the previous day?s fire, Hansman says.

He says there are three possible reasons for the fire involving the battery, which is used to start up the backup engine on the ground to power heating, air conditioning or other systems.

It could have been a manufacturing problem with the battery, it could have been used incorrectly or it could be a design problem, Hansman says.

?Regardless of what the problem is, it will be fairly easy to fix,? he says. ?It?s not something that puts the overall airplane at risk.?

Robert Fiegl, chairman of aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, says he is surprised by the number of problems the Dreamliner has had.

But, he says, ?Brand new aircraft can be expected to encounter some ?new technology? problems simply due to the lack of historical data or experience attributable to not knowing where the latent problems are yet.?

Contributing: David Craig, Bart Jansen

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