Dreamliner grounded after sparks noticed from its wheels

Kolkata: An Air India Dreamliner was grounded today after sparks coming out of its wheels were noticed on landing at the Kolkata Airport.

The sparks were noticed by the pilot of another aircraft when the Boeing 787, which had 171 passengers on board, landed from Delhi at around 1650 hours, airport officials said.

The pilot, who observed the sparks immediately reported to the Air traffic Control as per the normal practice in such situations, the officials added.

Though the passengers were deplaned normally after the plane taxied to the parking bay, Air India engineers and technicians were rushed to the aircraft immediately and the aircraft was grounded for check and repair.

Air India's Dreamliner fleet has in past also reported several glitches. Earlier this month, while replying to a member's question in the Lok Sabha Civil Aviation minister Ajit Singh has said that the Dreamliner fleet suffered 136 'minor' technical problems between their delivery since September last year and November this year.

He had said that the Air India was constantly in touch with Boeing on the issue of technical reliability of these new aircraft and added that a team of engineers and technicians from the American manufacturer was installing a reliability enhancement package involving upgrades to the software and components in the aircraft.