The world’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which started carrying paying passengers only last month with Japan’s All Nippon Airways, ran into its first technical glitch on Sunday when the landing gear failed to deploy. The 787’s pilots manually lowered the gear, after which the airplane landed safely in Okayama, Japan, after flying from Tokyo, according to Boeing.
All Nippon said the problem was linked to a hydraulic valve, which has since been repaired, according to press reports. Boeing said its engineers believe this was an isolated incident and not a fleetwide design issue. The airplane has since been returned to service.
In a statement, ANA said the airline “expects and is fully prepared for minor mechanical incidents which do not affect the operation safety of the B787. As a launch customer, we believe that it is our responsibility to tackle those issues with Boeing one by one in order to make the B787 a better operating aircraft.”
The airplane was delivered to All Nippon more than three years late because of design problems and supplier issues. It flew its first regular passenger flight on Oct. 26.
