US probe of Boeing fire finds battery did not overheat

NEW YORK (AFP) - The US agency in charge of transportation safety said a fire sparked after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner landed in Boston was not caused by an overcharged battery.

The risk of fire from overheating powerpacks emerged as a major concern for Boeing's cutting-edge new planes after pilots were forced to land a domestic Japanese flight due to smoke apparently linked to the lithium-ion battery.

The planes suffered a series of glitches earlier this month, prompting airlines to ground all 50 of the world's operational 787s after a global alert issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

However, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said its examination so far has shown the battery was not the culprit of an earlier Jan 7 fire on an empty Japan Airlines plane in Boston.