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FAA to launch comprehensive review of Boeing 787

Federal regulators say they are ordering a comprehensive review of the critical systems of Boeing's 787s, the aircraft maker's newest and most technologically a...

Federal News Network Staff

January 11, 2013 9:00 am

< a min read

By JOAN LOWY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal regulators say they are ordering a comprehensive review of the critical systems of Boeing’s 787s, the aircraft maker’s newest and most technologically advanced plane, after a fire and a fuel leak earlier this week.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the review will include the design, manufacture and assembly of the aircraft. Officials plan to detail the review at a news conference Friday morning.

The 787, which Boeing calls the “Dreamliner,” relies more than any other modern airliner on electrical signals to help power nearly everything the plane does. It’s also the first Boeing plane to use rechargeable lithium ion batteries and to be made with lightweight composite materials.

A fire ignited Monday in the battery pack of an auxiliary power unit of a Japan Airlines 787 empty of passengers.