Fire on Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Heathrow Airport Delays Flights
Firefighters swarmed the tarmac at Heathrow airport on Friday after a fire broke out on a Boeing 787 belonging to Ethiopian Airlines, as the aircraft was parked between flights.
No one was on board when the Ethiopian Airlines' "Queen of Sheba" aircraft struck fire shortly before 4:36 p.m. local time at the popular transit hub in London, causing all arrival and departing flights to be delayed for multiple hours as firefighters put out the fire.
"We can confirm there has been an on-board internal fire involving an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft and the airport's emergency services are in attendance," a spokesperson for Heathrow airport confirmed to NBC News.
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"The aircraft was parked on a remote parking stand. There were no passengers on board and there are no reported injuries at this time," the spokesperson added.
According to NBC News, although no one was injured in Friday's incident with the Boeing 787, shares in the Chicago-based company's stock took a tumble after news broke.
Boeing also released a brief statement saying it was aware of the incident and was "working to fully understand and address this."
As CNN notes, a separate incident with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner occurred Friday when the aircraft, en route to Florida, was forced to return to its origin of Manchester, England when pilots on board reported an unspecified "technical issue."
"Thomson Airways can confirm that flight TOM126 travelling from Manchester to Sanford, Florida experienced a technical issue and the aircraft returned to Manchester Airport, as a precautionary measure," the company's statement read, as reported by ABC News.
"Passengers have disembarked and our dedicated team of engineers is now inspecting the aircraft. Our customers will be moved to an alternative aircraft to ensure they get away on their holiday as soon as possible. The safety of our customers and crew is of paramount importance and we would like to apologise [sic] for the delay caused," the airline added.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has experienced past problems involving fires caused by its batteries, causing the U.S. and Japan to temporarily ground the model earlier this year due to fear of fires.
