The crew of a Boeing Co. 787 was forced to evacuate after experiencing smoke in the cabin during a test flight in Texas.
The second flight test aircraft was on approach to Laredo, Texas, when the incident occurred Tuesday. Forty-two people, including the flight crew and flight test technicians, were evacuated safely using emergency slides, said Lori Gunter of Boeing. One person was slightly injured but was released quickly after medical care, she said.
Boeing has experienced several setbacks with its 787 program, including recent problems with the availability of enough Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. The company had planned to deliver the first 787 in February to Japan’s All Nippon Airways, nearly three years late.
It is unclear whether Tuesday’s incident will affect the delivery of Boeing’s new jet.
One of the six aircraft in Boeing’s test fleet, the second 787 took off from Yuma, Ariz., at 6:42 a.m. Pacific time and landed six hours and five minutes later, according to Flight–Aware.com.
Boeing initially had planned to land in Harlingen, Texas, after testing the 787’s nitrogen generation system, a new feature meant to cut the risk of flames in the fuel tanks. The airplane had accumulated more than 558 hours of testing in 179 flights, according to Boeing’s website.
The smoke appeared in the rear cabin of the plane, farthest from the cockpit, said Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The pilot landed and advised he was declaring an emergency,” said Lunsford, who added that the airport fire department was called to the landing.
Boeing is continuing to gather information, Boeing’s Gunter said.
While Boeing did not speculate on the cause of the problem, The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday that the 787’s emergency auxiliary power unit, also called a ram air turbine, was activated. That’s designed to happen only in a power outage or partial outage.
Boeing’s 787 relies more on its electrical system to operate than do most commercial jetliners. Gunter declined to confirm The Wall Street Journal’s report.
Analyst Scott Hamilton, with Leeham Co., said it is to early to tell whether Tuesday’s incident is a major setback. Just last week, Boeing battled speculation that its 787 program was facing another delay when several customers said their Dreamliner deliveries had been pushed back.
Boeing said then that the first airplane would be delivered in February but declined to comment on further deliveries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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