Boeing 787 incident near Boston, Massachusetts, January 7, 2013
On January 7, 2013 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Boeing 787, registered JA829J, suffered minor damage in an incident near Boston, Massachusetts (Gen Edward Lawrence Logan Intl airport). It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). The NTSB record does not give the injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an internal short circuit within a cell of the auxiliary power unit (APU) lithium-ion battery, which led to thermal runaway that cascaded to adjacent cells, resulting in the release of smoke and fire. The incident resulted from Boeing's failure to incorporate design requirements to mitigate the most severe effects of an internal short circuit within an APU battery cell and the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to identify this design deficiency during the type design certification process.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 7, 2013 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Boston, Massachusetts · Gen Edward Lawrence Logan Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 787 · all 787s on the register
- Registration
- JA829J · no longer on the register · serial 34839
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-14/01. On January 7, 2013, about 1021 eastern standard time, smoke was discovered by cleaning personnel in the aft cabin of a Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 787-8, JA829J, which was parked at a gate at General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS), Boston, Massachusetts. About the same time, a maintenance manager in the cockpit observed that the auxiliary power unit (APU) had automatically shut down. Shortly afterward, a mechanic opened the aft electronic equipment bay and found heavy smoke coming from the lid of the APU battery case and a fire with two distinct flames at the electrical connector on the front of the case. None of the 183 passengers and 11 crewmembers were aboard the airplane at the time, and none of the maintenance or cleaning personnel aboard the airplane was injured. Aircraft rescue and firefighting personnel responded, and one firefighter received minor injuries. The airplane had arrived from Narita International Airport, Narita, Japan, as a regularly scheduled passenger flight operated as JAL flight 008 and conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 129.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Fire/smoke (non-impact) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Electrical power system › Battery/charger › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Electrical power system › Battery/charger › Design
- cause Organizational issues › Development › Design › Equipment design › FAA/Regulator
- Organizational issues › Development › Design › Equipment design › Manufacturer
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › (general) › FAA/Regulator
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Indicating/recording systems › Data recorders (flight/maint) › Capability exceeded
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › Oversight of operation › Manufacturer
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Japan Airlines International CO LTD
The flight
- Departed from: Narita OF
- Destination: BOS Boston MA
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.