Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner continues to dog Air India

August 21, 2014 07:43 pm | Updated 08:02 pm IST - NEW DELHI

Troubles with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner continue to dog Air India with one returning here midway after its windshield suffered a crack and two grounded as their GE engines belonged to the same series as the ones ordered to be examined by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The Air India Delhi-Kolkata flight was over Lucknow when the pilot thought the windshield was cracked and turned the aircraft back to Delhi. The passengers were then shifted to another Air India plane and sent to Kolkata, said Air India sources. The Dreamliner has suffered similar windshield mishaps in the UK and Australia.

Another Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been grounded in Seoul as both its engines belonged to the same series which suffered an in-flight failure on a foreign airline and another too has an engine from the same series and will be cleared after an examination of its engine.

Air India sources said GE engineers will be reaching Seoul on Friday morning to ascertain whether it also has the same problem as the aircraft of the foreign airways -- the engine's angle valve. All passengers on this flight were put up in hotels and later sent to India.

This is the second time engine issues have hit the much touted largest civilian airliner. Boeing had earlier advised Air India to avoid flying Dreamliner near high-level thunderstorms because of an increased risk of icing on the engines. This led to Japan Airlines withdrawing the Dreamliner on the Delhi-Tokyo route.

Boeing’s Dreamliner is still undergoing teething troubles after entering service in 2011 as was the case with its French rival Airbus’ A-380 for some time after it entered service in 2007.

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