B787 - ANA with engine trouble - Curt Lewis

Engine trouble forces ANA Dreamliner back to Kuala Lumpur

An All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was forced to return to Kuala Lumpur Monday due to engine trouble, the Japanese airline said, the latest incident for the aircraft which has been plagued by setbacks.

The plane carrying 203 passengers and 11 crew members left Kuala Lumpur airport at 8:09 am local time (0009 GMT) but landed back there safely at 9:27 am as the right engine exhaust temperature jumped, according to ANA spokesman Shoichiro Horii.

Horii said the airline was investigating the cause of the overheating problem.

The plane was scheduled to arrive at Narita airport at 3:15 pm local time.

The Dreamliner, built largely with lightweight composite materials that reduce fuel use, has been hit by a series of problems during development and production as well as since its first commercial flight in late 2011.

ANA has been a leader in introducing the plane, becoming the first airline to take delivery as well as to begin commercial flights.

In May, the US aviation regulator ordered repairs to correct a software bug that could cause the aircraft to suddenly lose all power.

In 2013, the Dreamliner was grounded globally over a separate electrical problem.

Early that year several planes experienced problems with batteries overheating that caused a fire on one aircraft. Changes were made to prevent recurrence.