A Boeing 787 Dreamliner owned by Ethiopian Airlines caught fire at London's Heathrow Airport Friday afternoon. No passengers were on board the aircraft at the time.
Heathrow Airport has temporarily suspended outbound and inbound air traffic while fire crews assess the situation. The aircraft appears largely undamaged from the outside and the situation seems to be contained.
Update: Arrivals & departures are temporarily suspended while airport fire crews attend an incident on board the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) July 12, 2013
The news of the fire sent Boeing's stuck tumbling at least 6.5%.
Boeing's future in commercial aviation rests largely on the success of the 787, which has been plagued by production delays and multiple battery fires. All 787s worldwide were grounded from January to April of this year while Boeing redesigned the aircraft's lithium-ion battery units.
It's unknown at this time if the battery was to blame for the Ethiopian Airlines 787 fire. Ethiopian Airlines owns three other Dreamliners.