By Santanu Choudhury and Jon Ostrower
NEW DELHI--India's civil aviation regulator has started an
investigation into an incident aboard an Air India Ltd.'s Boeing
Co. (BA) Dreamliner flight, the regulator said Friday.
The 787 jetliner was on a flight from the national capital to
the eastern metropolis of Kolkata on Wednesday when it experienced
smoke in a galley-oven area.
"I have asked our regional office [in Kolkata] to do a
preliminary inquiry," Arun Mishra, Director General of Civil
Aviation, told The Wall Street Journal. "We don't know exactly what
happened."
Mr. Mishra however said the initial information he has received
indicate "this is not a serious issue." He said the investigation
is likely to be completed in a few days.
A spokesman for Air India said "due to overheating of the oven,
there was some smoke inside the aircraft." He didn't specify what
caused the incident, or if the oven was being used to prepare food
at the time.
Air India's engineers checked the plane after it landed at
Kolkata and have approved it for future flights, the spokesman
said.
A Boeing Co. spokesman said the company is "aware of the event
and working with our customer."
Boeing's new long-haul Dreamliner aircraft has experienced a
spate of issues, some normal for a new passenger plane. However,
twin incidents with the jet's lithium ion batteries in January
prompted a three-and-a-half-month grounding of the jet, halting
both commercial flights and new deliveries.
Most recently a fire damaged a parked Ethiopian Airlines 787 at
Heathrow Airport in London.
Air India is one of Boeing's first Dreamliner customers and has
received seven of the 27 ordered in January 2006.
The fuel-efficient Dreamliners are central to Air India's
efforts to return to profitability. The national carrier has
recorded losses for five years because of high fuel and interest
costs as well as competition from budget airlines.
Air India is operating the Dreamliner on flights to Paris,
Frankfurt and Dubai, in addition to domestic routes. From Aug. 1,
it will start flights on the jet from Amristar and Delhi to
Birmingham. The airline will also start services to Sydney and
Melbourne.
Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@wsj.com and Jon
Ostrower at jon.ostrower@wsj.com
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