US safety board finds clue on 787 fire, faults FAA review

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Thursday criticised the government's certification process for the Boeing 787 as it said it had pinpointed how a battery fire occurred on one of the aircraft.

NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman said that investigators probing the January 7 incident on a Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner found evidence pointing to a single cell on the eight-cell lithium-ion battery that caught fire on the parked JAL 787 at Boston's Logan airport.

There were multiple signs of short-circuiting in the cell, which led to an uncontrollable rise in temperatures, or thermal runaway, to adjacent cells, she said.

"We are now working to identify the cause of the short circuit on cell six," she said at a news conference.