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A United Boeing 787 Dreamliner was forced to perform an emergency landing yesterday following reports of electrical problems onboard. According to The Aviation Herald, the flight was diverted to New Orleans after the crew raised concerns over the electrical equipment bay, but no problems were found by fire crews once the plane was safely on the ground.
The emergency landing came on the same day that the Federal Aviation Administration ordered mandatory inspections of Boeing 787s following word of fuel line issues. Two international airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, reported fuel leaks during flights of their own Dreamliners despite thorough inspections. The fuel line issues have now been fixed by both airlines, and a spokesperson for Boeing has confirmed with Bloomberg that the electrical problems were unrelated.
The Boeing 787 is extremely rare thanks to years of delays
While the technical issues are a cause for concern, the state-of-the-art Dreamliner only recently went into service in the United States. United Airlines currently has two Boeing 787s in service on domestic routes, with the airline having put in orders for 50 planes. The aircraft is still extremely rare overall too — Boeing has only delivered 33 as of October, with All Nippon Airways accounting for 16 by itself. Still, the latest problems are another blow for Boeing, who delivered the initial Dreamliner orders three and a half years late due to the more complex materials and construction methods used in building the plane.
