Following All Nippon Airways decision to ground its fleet of Boeing 787s Dreamliners, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced that all 787s in the US are to be grounded pending an investigation into the recent lithium-ion battery failures that have caused fires in Boston and Japan. Just yesterday, a 787 had to make an emergency landing in Japan after a fire started on the aircraft and sent smoke into the cabin.

The 787 is to be grounded until operators are able to prove to the FAA that the batteries on the plane are safe and will not cause any future fires. On January 7th, a fire in a 787 at Boston's Logan Airport kept the plane from taking off. Fortunately, the fires on Boston and Japan did not cause any serious issues.

Today's announcement follow's last week's news that the FAA has launched a full-scale investigation into the Dreamliner's design, manufacture, and assembly. The investigation is expected to look at a variety of problems the 787 has faced since its first flight last year, including cracks in the cockpit window, oil leaks in the engines, various computer related issues, and of course, the battery-related fires.

Currently, there are only six 787s in active use in the US, and all of them are operated by United Airlines. In addition to two airlines in Japan, there are five other airlines across the world that have the 787 in their fleets. The FAA says that it has alerted them to the grounding notice, and it is likely that other civil authorities will make similar announcements following the FAA's decision.

The FAA's full statement on the matter is below:

As a result of an in-flight, Boeing 787 battery incident earlier today in Japan, the FAA will issue an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) to address a potential battery fire risk in the 787 and require operators to temporarily cease operations. Before further flight, operators of U.S.-registered, Boeing 787 aircraft must demonstrate to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the batteries are safe. The FAA will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective action plan to allow the U.S. 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.The in-flight Japanese battery incident followed an earlier 787 battery incident that occurred on the ground in Boston on January 7, 2013. The AD is prompted by this second incident involving a lithium ion battery. The battery failures resulted in release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke on two Model 787 airplanes. The root cause of these failures is currently under investigation. These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment.Last Friday, the FAA announced a comprehensive review of the 787’s critical systems with the possibility of further action pending new data and information. In addition to the continuing review of the aircraft’s design, manufacture and assembly, the agency also will validate that 787 batteries and the battery system on the aircraft are in compliance with the special condition the agency issued as part of the aircraft’s certification. United Airlines is currently the only U.S. airline operating the 787, with six airplanes in service. When the FAA issues an airworthiness directive, it also alerts the international aviation community to the action so other civil aviation authorities can take parallel action to cover the fleets operating in their own countries.

We have reached out to Boeing for a comment on the FAA's announcement and will update this post if we hear back.

Update: The FAA has officially issued the emergency airworthiness directive. You can read it right here (PDF).

Update 2: Air India has also grounded its fleet of six 787 aircraft while it awaits an investigation by Indian regulators.

Update 3: Boeing has provided this statement from CEO Jim McNerney: