UK's Thomson Airways says Dreamliner forced to return to UK

                          
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday that it will send a representative to assist in the probe of the fire aboard a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner operated by Ethiopian Airlines at Britain's Heathrow airport.

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Britain's Thomson Airways flying to the United States from northwest England was forced to return to Britain due to technical issues as a precaution, the airline said.
   
The incident was unrelated to a fire aboard another Dreamliner operated by Ethiopian Airlines while on the ground at Britain's Heathrow airport.
   
"Thomson Airways can confirm that flight TOM126 travelling from Manchester to Sanford, Florida experienced a technical issue and the aircraft returned to Manchester Airport, as a precautionary measure," Thomson Airways, owned by TUI Travel , said in a statement.
   
The company added that passengers had disembarked and that its engineers were inspecting the aircraft in Manchester.
U.S. FAA aware of London Dreamliner fire, in contact with Boeing
   
This as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was in contact with Boeing as the company investigates a fire onboard one of its 787 Dreamliners at London's Heathrow airport.
   
The plane is operated by Ethiopian Airlines.
   
"We are aware of the situation and we are in contact with Boeing as they assess the incident," a FAA spokeswoman said.
   
It was not clear if the fire was related to the battery, which was the cause of the previous fires on Dreamliners.

Earlier, a plane that caught fire at Britain's Heathrow airport was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet operated by Ethiopian Airlines, footage on Britain's Sky News channel showed.

The new, lightweight jet suffered a series of battery fires earlier this year, leading the plane to be grounded for several weeks until Boeing came up with a satisfactory fix.    

Boeing shares were down 5 percent in New York.           

Britain's Heathrow airport said on Friday it had closed both its runways after a fire aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane.