All 787s Now Grounded, Await Inspection Protocol
United Airlines flew six Boeing 787s before the authorities grounded the airplanes Wednesday evening. (Photo: Boeing)
United Airlines flew six Boeing 787s before the authorities grounded the airplanes Wednesday evening. (Photo: Boeing)

Airlines around the world have grounded their Boeing 787s following the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s Wednesday emergency airworthiness directive (AD) that requires United Airlines to stop flying its six Dreamliners until it demonstrates the safety of the airplanes’ batteries. Hours later, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted the AD, forcing Europe’s only 787 operator—Poland’s LOT—to ground its two airplanes. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways had already grounded their fleets a day earlier, after the crew of an ANA 787 made an emergency landing in western Japan in response to a battery malfunction warning and the smell of smoke in the cabin.