Japan probe of Boeing 787 battery finds signs of thermal runaway

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This Jan. 17, 2013 photo provided by the Japan Transport Safety Board shows the distorted main lithium-ion battery, left, and an undamaged auxiliary battery of the All Nippon Airways\' Boeing 787 which made an emergency landing on Jan. 16, 2013 at Takamatsu airport in Takamatsu, western Japan. An investigation into the battery that overheated on a Boeing 787 flight in Japan found evidence of the same type of "thermal runaway" seen in a similar incident in Boston, officials said Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Japan Transport Safety Board, File) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES

TOKYO – Japan’s Transport Safety Board says the lithium ion battery aboard a Boeing 787 flight in Japan last month found evidence of the same type of “thermal runaway” seen in a similar incident in Boston.

The board said in a report Tuesday that CAT scans and other analysis found damage to all eight cells in the battery that overheated on an All Nippon Airways 787 on Jan. 16, prompting an emergency landing.

They also found signs of “thermal runaway,” a chemical reaction in which rising temperature causes progressively hotter temperatures. U.S. investigators found similar evidence in the battery that caught fire last month on a Japan Airlines 787 parked in Boston.

All 50 Boeing 787s in operation are grounded as regulators and Boeing investigate the problem.

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