The following are significant events involving the aircraft model. The numbered events are those involving at least one passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role, and where at least one of the dead passengers was not a stowaway, hijacker, or saboteur.

7 January 2013; JAL 787-8; Boston, MA: Prior to a scheduled flight from Boston to Tokyo, a maintenance and cleaning personnel noted that the auxiliary power unit (APU) disconnected and smoke began to enter the cabin and cockpit. Shortly afterward, smoke was coming from the aft electronics bay. Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) responded and confirmed the smoke was coming from the APU battery. One firefighter sustained minor injuries.

NTSB battery fire incident report

JAL plane crashes

16 January 2013; ANA 787-8; flight 692; en route from Ube to Tokyo, Japan: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Ube to Tokyo's Haneda airport when smoke was detected in the aircraft. The crew diverted to Takamatsu, where after landing the crew initiated an emergency evacuation. One passenger was taken to the hospital and later released. None of the seven crew members or the other 129 passengers were seriously injured. The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB), in conjunction with the NTSB, is conducting an investigation into the cause of the battery fire.

NTSB battery fire incident report

ANA plane crashes

Webinar on 787 battery fire investigation

Dr. Todd Curtis of AirSafe.com hosted a 14 February 2013 webinar discussed the January 2013 grounding of the entire 787 fleet after two serious fires on a JAL and ANA 787 involving lithium ion batteries. Dr. Curtis summarized the status of the investigations by the NTSB and JTSB, and explains the process that Boeing and the airlines will go through in order to return the aircraft to service. Watch the 14 February 2013 webinar below, or on YouTube

12 July 2013; Ethiopian Airlines 787-8; ET-AOP; flight 1354; London Heathrow Airport: While the aircraft was parked, unoccupied, and unpowered, and overheating battery associated with the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) caused a fire in the upper part of the rear fuselage. The fire severely damaged the fuselage, but did not cause any injuries or deaths. The AAIB investigation did not determine whether the overheating was caused by a release of energy within the lithium-manganese dioxide batteries, or if was due to an external mechanism like an electrical short. This particular ELT was entirely independent of the aircraft's electrical power system. This event was significant because this model of ELT is used on a wide range of aircraft, and of the roughly 6,000 units produced by the manufacturer, this event was the first recorded instant of a significant thermal event.

AAIB report on the battery fire event

Safety implications of this kind of fire

Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes