Boeing delivers first 787 Dreamliner since grounding
May 14, 2013, 12:09 PM | Updated: 12:36 pm
After sitting on the tarmac at Everett’s Paine Field for four months, Boeing is finally delivering its 787 Dreamliner to its customers.
All Dreamliners, worldwide, had been grounded since mid-January, following a battery fire on a 787 parked at Boston’s Logan International Airport, and a smoking battery that led to an emergency landing by another 787 in Japan.
Boeing made changes to the battery design and added a steel enclosure to prevent any overheating from affecting the plane. It continued building the plane during the grounding and parking them at Paine Field.
The Federal Aviation Administration estimates the cost to beef up the Dreamliner’s battery system at more than $464,000 per jet.
All Nippon Airways was the first airline to get its new Dreamliner on Tuesday.
Airlines with 787 Dreamliners already in rotation were cleared to resume flights last month.