France's Thales joins Dreamliner Japan-US battery probe

TOKYO (AFP) - French electrical system giant Thales has joined a Japan-US probe into a battery fire which forced a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to make an emergency landing in Japan, officials said today.

Two Thales engineers have been taking part in a CT scan of the aircraft's lithium-ion battery at a Japan space agency facility in Tokyo since Tuesday, said a Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) spokeswoman.

"They are participating as advisers to the BEA (the French civil aviation authority)," she said.

Thales designed the Dreamliner's electrical system and commissioned Japanese firm GS Yuasa to produce the next-generation aircraft's batteries.