US air safety regulators have launched an investigation after debris that fell from a Boeing 787 engine started a grass fire at an airport in South Carolina.
The grass fire shut down the Charleston International Airport for more than an hour on Saturday afternoon (US time), and emergency crews later found metal debris from the engine on the approach to the runway.
The 787 in question was a newly assembled aircraft from Boeing’s South Carolina plant and was equipped with GE GEnx engines, Boeing said. In a statement, the company confirmed that the aircraft had experienced an “engine issue while undergoing preflight runway testing” and said the investigation had been turned over to the National Transportations Safety Board.
The incident comes a week after 787 launch customer All Nippon Airways said it has been forced to ground five of its 11 787s over engine issues. ANA’s fleet of 787s is equipped with engines made by Rolls-Royce.
