Incident
On January 7, 2013, about 1021 eastern standard time, cleaning personnel discovered smoke in the aft cabin of a Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 787-8, registered as JA829J, while the airplane was parked at a gate at General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS), Boston, Massachusetts. At approximately the same time, a maintenance manager in the cockpit observed that the auxiliary power unit (APU) had automatically shut down.
Response and Findings
Shortly after the smoke was detected, a mechanic opened the aft electronic equipment bay and found heavy smoke emanating from the lid of the APU battery case. A fire with two distinct flames was visible at the electrical connector on the front of the battery case.
None of the 183 passengers and 11 crewmembers were aboard the airplane at the time. Maintenance and cleaning personnel on the airplane were not injured. Aircraft rescue and firefighting personnel responded to the scene, and one firefighter sustained minor injuries.
Aircraft and Flight
The airplane had arrived from Narita International Airport, Narita, Japan, as a regularly scheduled passenger flight operated as JAL flight 008 under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 129.