A Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8 operating a flight from Helsinki on 8 November received an indication of a problem with the aircraft's auxiliary power unit battery.

A spokesman for the airline confirmed that the aircraft, registration JA830J, was operating flight 414 bound for Tokyo Narita when the cockpit warning was activated. However, as the voltage and current readings were in acceptable range, the flight was able to continue to Narita.

Once the the aircraft had landed, the batteries were removed, inspected and no faults were found. Inspections were also made of the battery charger, which was subsequently replaced and sent to the manufacturer for further analysis, says the spokesman.

He emphasised that the incident was “not a battery problem” and therefore unlikely to be linked to the battery problems that plagued the 787 earlier this year.

JAL says it has informed Boeing of the incident, and the two companies are undertaking further investigations.

The aircraft in question has been put back into service.

Issues with the 787's lithium ion batteries led to the type’s grounding for several weeks earlier this year after two aircraft were involved in separate overheating incidents.

Some 787 operators, including Qatar Airways and Air India, have encountered other in-service reliability issues with the type, although there have been no suggestions of systemic problems with the aircraft.

Flightglobal’s Ascend Online database shows that JAL has 11 787-8s in service and orders for 14 more. It also has orders for 20 787-9s.

Source: Cirium Dashboard