Boeing Dreamliner flying from U.S. makes emergency landing in Scotland

By Sarah Young and Adrian Krajewski LONDON/WARSAW (Reuters) - A Boeing Co Dreamliner flying from Chicago to Poland with 248 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Glasgow, Scotland, on Friday after crew received an alert from the fire protection system in the baggage hold. Emergency services met the plane from Polish state airline LOT [LOT.UL], which had been heading for Warsaw, at 9:35 a.m. local time (1035 GMT), Glasgow's airport said. Other traffic at the airport was not affected. The plane was cleared as safe and the passengers allowed to disembark, an airport spokesman said. More checks on the fire alarm were being carried out. "We are aware of the LOT diversion of a 787 into Glasgow," a Boeing spokesman said in statement emailed to Reuters. "We are working with our customer to assess the situation. At this time we have no further details." The diversion of the LOT flight comes just days after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration called for parts upgrades on the Dreamliner to ensure better fire suppression in its cargo hold and an electrical equipment bay. Any findings of technical fault would add to earlier problems experienced by the 787 Dreamliner - Boeing's estimated $32 billion bet on new technology, which entered commercial service three years ago. The global 787 fleet was grounded from January to April last year after two lithium-ion batteries burned out in separate incidents in Japan and the United States. The main lithium battery is housed in the electrical equipment bay that was the area of the plane involved in the FAA action, a proposed rule published on Tuesday and agreed to by Boeing. Boeing said the FAA action did not involve the battery. The FAA called for improving foam-like plugs in the area of the battery to prevent Halon, a fire-fighting chemical, from escaping in the event of a fire. Boeing said it agreed with the plan to install the upgraded parts on about 88 aircraft, known as the 787-8, which posed no immediate safety concern. Separately on Friday, German airline Air Berlin said it had cancelled orders for Boeing aircraft worth about $5 billion at list prices as it strives to curb spending and return to profitability. The cancellations included 15 787-8s and 18 Next-Generation 737-800s, Boeing said. NO SMOKE, FIRE ON PLANE Barbara Pijanowska-Kuras, a LOT spokeswoman, said: "The emergency landing of the plane was caused by a glitch in the fire protection system. There was no fire or smoke on board." She added that "generally speaking, the aircraft is functional. We are waiting for a confirmation from technical services to say when the aircraft could fly back to Poland." The passengers were still on board as LOT was preparing to possibly move them to another aircraft, the airline said. The spokeswoman earlier told Poland's TVN24 channel that the crew got an alert from the plane's fire protection system and diverted to the nearest airport to comply with safety rules. Firefighters at the scene did not see any fire or smoke, she said. The plane is one of six Boeing 787s in LOT's fleet, all equipped with engines made by Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC. Rolls-Royce declined to comment. STATE-OF-THE-ART Boeing's state-of-the-art plane is built with carbon-fibre composite materials and a powerful electrical system to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency. The Dreamliner was more than three years late to enter service after issues with parts, and has since suffered a series of mishaps with brakes, fuel lines, electrical panels, hydraulics and other systems. The company won approval for its jets to resume flying in April 2013 after it redesigned the lithium battery, charger and containment system. In July 2013, a Dreamliner caught fire at London Heathrow Airport. British investigators traced the probable cause to faulty wiring of a lithium battery in an emergency beacon not made by Boeing. Japan's ANA Holdings Inc, which operates the world's biggest fleet of Dreamliners, found damage to the battery wiring on two 787 locator beacons in July 2013. Boeing shares were up 0.55 percent at $127.84 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (Additional reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Anna Koper and Alwyn Scott; editing by Robin Pomeroy and G Crosse)