The Dreamliner has been hit by a spate of technical and
safety issues in recent months
Japan Airlines (JAL) says it has turned around two
of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft during
flights due to technical problems.
On one plane one of the two anti-ice systems, which
prevent ice building up around the engine, failed.
Meanwhile, an electrical glitch made six toilets unusable
on another flight.
These are the latest technical issues to hit the
Dreamliner, which saw the entire fleet being grounded
earlier this year following battery problems.
The anti-icing system failed on a Tokyo-bound flight
that took off from San Diego.
A spokesperson for JAL told the BBC that a similar issue
had forced a Tokyo-to-Singapore flight to be turned
back in June this year.
Meanwhile, an electrical system failure connected to the
lavatories affected a flight from Moscow to Tokyo.
The failure resulted in six of the seven toilets on the
plane not being able to flush.
The airline said that it was looking into the problems.
Latest setback
The 787 Dreamliner has suffered a series of technical
and safety problems in recent months.
In January, its entire fleet was temporarily grounded.
That move was prompted after a fire broke out on one
of JAL's Dreamliners, and an All Nippon Airways (ANA)
flight was forced to make an emergency landing
because of a battery fault and a fire in one of the
electrical compartments.
Though the planes have since been allowed back into
the air, other issues have emerged.
Battery problems resulted in the entire Dreamliner fleet
being grounded earlier this year
In July, a fire broke out on a 787 jet operated by
Ethiopian Airlines while it was parked at Heathrow
airport. It was traced to the upper rear part of the
plane where a locator transmitter is located.
Then in August, ANA said it had found damage to the
battery wiring on two 787 locator transmitters during
checks. US carrier United Airlines also found a pinched
wire during an inspection of one of its six 787s.
The issues have hurt Boeing.
Earlier this week, JAL announced a $9.5bn (£5.9bn)
plane deal with rival Airbus. It is the first time that it
has agreed to buy Airbus planes, having preferred
Boeing for many decades.
Analysts have hinted that issues with the Dreamliner
may have played a role in JAL's decision.
However, despite the issues the Dreamliner is still
considered to be one of the most advanced planes in
the industry and continues to remain popular.
Boeing has received orders for more than 950 jets
since its launch.
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