Boeing Dreamliner flying from U.S. makes emergency landing in Scotland
LONDON/WARSAW (Reuters) - A Boeing Dreamliner flying from Chicago to Poland with 248 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Scotland's Glasgow airport on Friday after crew received an alert from the fire protection system in the baggage hold.
The Polish state airline LOT plane was cleared as safe and the passengers allowed to disembark, an airport spokesman said. More checks on the fire alarm were being carried out.
"We are aware of the LOT diversion of a 787 into Glasgow," a Boeing spokesman said in statement emailed to Reuters. "We are working with our customer to assess the situation. At this time we have no further details."
Any findings of technical fault would add to the problems experienced by the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's estimated $32 billion bet on new technology, which entered commercial service three years ago.
Last year, the global fleet was grounded for three months from January to April after two lithium-ion batteries burned out in two incidents in Japan and the United States.
Emergency services met the LOT plane, which had been heading for Warsaw, at 9:35 a.m. (1035 GMT), Glasgow airport said. Other traffic at the airport was not affected.
LOT spokeswoman Barbara Pijanowska-Kuras told Poland's TVN24 channel: "The crew received an alert from the fire protection system in the baggage hold. In accordance with safety rules, the plane had to land at the nearest airport for checks."
Firefighters at the scene did not see any fire or smoke, she said.
STATE-OF-THE-ART
Boeing's state-of-the-art plane is built with carbon-fibre composite materials and a powerful electrical system to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.
The Dreamliner was more than three years late to enter service after issues with parts, and has since suffered a series of mishaps with brakes, fuel lines, electrical panels, hydraulics and other systems.
The company won approval for its jets to resume flying in April 2013 after it redesigned the battery compartment.
However, in July last year, a Dreamliner caught fire at London Heathrow airport. British investigators traced the probable cause to faulty wiring of a lithium battery in an emergency beacon.
Japan's ANA Holdings Inc, which operates the world's biggest fleet of Dreamliners, found damage to the battery wiring on two 787 locator beacons in July last year.
LOT was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)