More damaged wires found in Boeing 787 beacon

TOKYO -- Japan's airliner ANA Holdings Inc. said it found damaged wires in an emergency beacon aboard a Boeing 787 used for Japanese domestic routes.

The damaged wires were similar to the problem that is believed to have caused a fire in a parked Ethopian Airlines jetliner earlier this month at London's Heathrow Airport.

FAA regulators ordered inspections of the emergency portable beacon Thursday after they determined pinched wires probably caused the fire. Investigations into the the fire are still on going. Honeywell International Inc., the manufacturer of the emergency beacon aboard the plane, said there are currently more than 6,000 emergency beacons in use across a variety of Boeing airplane models.

Japan Airlines, the nation’s other operator of 787s, said earlier this week that it had completed checks of beacons and was flying its fleet of nine planes as usual after confirming their safety.

ANA said it will continue its normal operations of 12 Boeing Dreamliners flying on international routes after completing a check of those beacons.