Heathrow Plane Fire Caused By Electrical Fault

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner that caught fire at Heathrow in 2013 had an electrical fault which probably caused the blaze, an air accident report has revealed.

The plane, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, was remotely parked at the time and there was no one on board, but the incident resulted in the temporary closure of both runways at the airport.

According to the report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the blaze was triggered by wires from a lithium battery on the aircraft being crossed and trapped beneath a cover, which most likely caused the battery to short circuit and rapidly discharge.

This would have caused it to overheat and break, leaking flammable materials and flame into the ceiling of the cabin.

The report notes that firefighters struggled to find the cause of the blaze due to the battery's location inside an emergency beacon, which was inside the ceiling panels at the back of the passenger cabin.

There was also no indication of the battery in Boeing's information documents for the plane.

The Dreamliner, one of Boeing’s newest commercial jets, had been plagued by technical issues even before the July 2013 fire.

Intended to enter service in 2008, it did not take its first commercial flight until October 2011, and all Dreamliner planes were then grounded in January 2013 - just a few months before the Heathrow fire - due to similar problems with lithium batteries catching alight.

The planes were cleared for flights again in April of that year following upgrades, with Ethiopian Airlines the first to resume using the jets.

Today's AAIB report makes a number of recommendations to avoid future incidents, including that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should assess the beacon and battery for protections against short-circuiting.