Boeing urges inspection of 787 fire extinguishers

Boeing has asked airlines to inspect their 787s to ensure proper configuration of fire-extinguisher canisters after uncovering a defect this week that it said stemmed from an error that occurred at a supplier.

Boeing has provided users of the 787s with directions on addressing improperly configured bottles and the inspection on each airplane will only take a few minutes, Rob Henderson, a company spokesman, said in an E-mail yesterday.

The fault does not present an immediate flight-safety issue, Boeing said.

The Dreamliner suffered its latest setback earlier this week after ANA Holdings, the model’s biggest operator, found wiring defects in the fire-suppression system on three aircraft.

Boeing’s flagship jet, which made its commercial debut in 2011, is already under scrutiny following a fire in London last month that U.K. investigators linked to an emergency beacon.

Bloomberg