Boeing 787 design, production under FAA scrutiny

A comprehensive review of the design, manufacture and assembly of the Boeing 787 is being conducted by the US Federal Aviation Administration, even as the aircraft has been  declared safe by government officials, despite recent incidents including a fire and a fuel leak earlier this week.

According to Michael Huerta, the FAA administrator, who spoke at a news conference Friday there was nothing in the data the agency had seen to suggest the plane was not safe, but the agency wanted to figure out why the safety-related incidents were occurring.

Going a step further, transportation secretary Ray LaHood said he believed the plane was safe and he would have absolutely no reservations about boarding one of the planes and taking a flight.

The 787, the ''Dreamliner,'' as Boeing calls it is the aircraft maker's newest and most technologically advanced airliner. The aircraft relies more than any other modern airliner on electrical signals to help power nearly everything the it does and is also the first Boeing plane to use rechargeable lithium ion batteries, which charge faster and can be moulded to space-saving shapes as against batteries in other airplanes.

Meanwhile, Japan's transport ministry has launched an investigation into what caused two fuel leaks on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet owned by Japan Airlines Co, just days after US authorities opened a wide-ranging review of the aircraft following a series of incidents, including a battery fire.

Over the weekend, the JAL-operated jet, which was undergoing checks in Japan after a fuel leak at Boston airport in the US last week, leaked fuel again during tests. Both leaks were traced to separate valve-related problems.