Fuel Leak

More bad news for Boeing Co.: Japan Airlines Co. said Sunday tests on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet showed the plane leaking fuel. The airline, known as JAL, was performing maintenance work on the aircraft after it was spotted spilling nearly 30 gallons of fuel onto the taxiway at Boston's Logan International Airport on Tuesday. While being examined at the Narita International Airport near Tokyo, the grounded plane began to leak fuel from a nozzle on the left wing, JAL said in a memo.

Federal safety regulators have begun a probe of fuel leaks in about 250,000 Mercedes-Benz E-Class cars. The investigation was launched after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Mercedes-Benz received more than 500 complaints from owners about a strong odor of gasoline, mainly after refueling. The NHTSA said fuel may be leaking from the upper part of the gas tank. No fires or injuries have been reported. The investigation includes vehicles from 2003 to 2008 model years.

General Motors Co. is recalling nearly 41,000 cars sold in warm-weather states, including California, because of concerns that a defective plastic part might cause a fuel leak, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The federal agency said GM is recalling 2007-09 Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt sedans as well as 2007 models of the Saturn Ion sedan, Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent sport-utility vehicles. "Some of these vehicles have a condition in which the plastic supply or return port on the fuel pump module may crack, which could cause a fuel leak," the agency said in a statement posted on its website.

Chrysler announced Thursday that it is recalling some 2013 Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger cars built from Oct. 30, 2012, through Nov. 2, 2012. The automaker said 1,785 of the cars may have a broken control valve in the fuel-tank assembly. The problem could result in an engine stall and potentially a crash if a car would stall while it is being driven. The same problem could result in a fuel leak, which might lead to a fire if the leak reaches an ignition source. Chrysler said it will notify owners of the affected vehicles, and that dealers will inspect the fuel-tank assembly and replace any defective control valves for free.

A fuel leak may have caused the fire that destroyed a Taiwanese jet in Japan seconds after its passengers fled, aviation officials said. Japanese authorities said they were focusing on evidence that the plane's right engine leaked fuel as it pulled into a parking spot after arriving from Taiwan. The 157 passengers and eight crew slid down chutes and jumped from windows before flames engulfed the China Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Okinawa's Naha Airport on Monday. No one was hurt.

* About 228,000 Ellemenno brand girls' capri pants with snap roll cuffs, distributed by Mervyns, have been recalled because the buttons inside the pants' waistbands can detach. This poses a choking hazard. For details, call (800) 637-8967 or visit www.mervyns.com or www.cpsc.gov. * About 200,000 children's necklaces, bracelets and rings imported by Spandrel Sales and Marketing Inc. have been recalled because they contain high levels of lead, which can be toxic if ingested.

A loose pin shot out of one of space shuttle Columbia's engines moments before liftoff at Kennedy Space Center in Florida last week and probably caused the ship's hydrogen fuel leak, NASA said. The gold-plated 1-inch pin is the chief suspect, but the space agency was continuing its investigation to be certain nothing else was to blame, Bill Gerstenmaier, a senior shuttle manager, said. Columbia leaked hydrogen fuel all the way to orbit.

Investigators probing the cause of the doomed Concorde flight said Sunday that flames seen spewing from the aircraft most likely came from a major fuel leak and that they believe they found part of a fuel tank on the runway. The supersonic jet crashed less than a minute after takeoff Tuesday from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 114 people.

Dozens of passengers were delayed for more than two hours Monday after an Amtrak train from San Diego spilled about 500 gallons of diesel fuel when its tank was punctured by a lawn mower that had been placed on the tracks. No injuries were reported in the 4:59 p.m. incident. After the mishap, Amtrak crewmen disconnected the engine from the train.

About 160 people were evacuated from an area at the F-16 test site at Edwards Air Force Base Wednesday when a gallon of toxic hydrazine fuel leaked out of a storage tank, authorities reported. Although 19 of the evacuees were taken to the base hospital for observation, there did not appear to be any serious aftereffects, Sgt. Lorri Wray reported.

The investigation into why the Carnival Triumph went from cruise ship to floating crisis may last six months, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday. Investigators released new insights into the early stages of how the 3,141-passenger, 1,086-crew-member Triumph became powerless and adrift last week in the Gulf of Mexico. A fire began in the ship's engine room after a flexible hose attached to a fuel line -- running from the fuel tanks to the engine -- began to leak, Coast Guard spokesman Carlos Diaz told the Los Angeles Times.

More bad news for Boeing Co.: Japan Airlines Co. said Sunday tests on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet showed the plane leaking fuel. The airline, known as JAL, was performing maintenance work on the aircraft after it was spotted spilling nearly 30 gallons of fuel onto the taxiway at Boston's Logan International Airport on Tuesday. While being examined at the Narita International Airport near Tokyo, the grounded plane began to leak fuel from a nozzle on the left wing, JAL said in a memo.

Another Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines encountered a problem at Boston's Logan International Airport, just one day after a fire erupted on a different Dreamliner parked at a gate. About 12:25 p.m. EST Tuesday, a Japan Airlines Dreamliner headed to Tokyo was taxiing to the runway for takeoff when a fuel leak forced it to return to the terminal. Japan Airlines, or JAL, did not immediately provide any information on the incident. A person on the scene said the leak dumped about 40 gallons of fuel on the taxiway.

General Motors Co. is recalling nearly 41,000 cars sold in warm-weather states, including California, because of concerns that a defective plastic part might cause a fuel leak, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The federal agency said GM is recalling 2007-09 Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt sedans as well as 2007 models of the Saturn Ion sedan, Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent sport-utility vehicles. "Some of these vehicles have a condition in which the plastic supply or return port on the fuel pump module may crack, which could cause a fuel leak," the agency said in a statement posted on its website.

BMW will recall 1.3 million luxury cars, including 367,000 in the U.S., because of a potential problem with a battery cable connector. It is BMW's largest recall ever, company officials said, and it is big by industry standards, rivaling some of the large recalls issued by Toyota Motor Co. as it dealt with quality issues over the last two years. The recall includes all BMW 5 Series sedans and sport wagons produced from June 1, 2003, to March 31, 2010, and 6 Series coupes and convertibles produced from Sept.

BMW will recall 1.3 million luxury cars, including 367,000 in the U.S., because of a potential problem with a battery cable connector. It is BMW's largest recall ever, company officials said, and it is big by industry standards, rivaling some of the large recalls issued by Toyota Motor Co. as it dealt with quality issues over the past two years.    The recall includes all BMW 5 Series Sedans and Sport Wagons produced between June 1,...

A big rig with a ruptured fuel line left a slippery, seven-mile trail of diesel fuel Wednesday morning on the southbound San Diego Freeway, causing a rash of traffic accidents, the California Highway Patrol said. Jose Angel Perez Gonzalez, 33, of Long Beach, was driving a 1980 Freightliner south on the freeway about 5:45 a.m. near the Brookhurst Avenue exit when a tire on the roadway hit one of the truck's fuel lines, CHP Officer Angel Johnson said.

A major leak that oozed from a jet fuel line of the aircraft carrier Constellation into a boiler room was unofficially blamed Wednesday for a nine-hour blaze that injured 20 sailors. The huge ship returned to port. Sailors who fought the conflagration said that at one time a fireball roared through the boiler room and onto the second deck of the carrier. Rodger L. Laws, 33, a machinist mate first class who runs Boiler Room No.

Porsche will recall 2012 model year 911 Carrera S sports cars because the fuel line might come apart.   The recall involves 1,232 of the cars, which each sell for about $100,000. The problem results from what Porsche called an “assembly error” that can cause a coolant line to knock into and release a locking mechanism on the fuel line. “The customer may detect the odor of fuel or notice a fuel leak. This can result in engine misfiring, or cause the engine to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

A fuel leak may have caused the fire that destroyed a Taiwanese jet in Japan seconds after its passengers fled, aviation officials said. Japanese authorities said they were focusing on evidence that the plane's right engine leaked fuel as it pulled into a parking spot after arriving from Taiwan. The 157 passengers and eight crew slid down chutes and jumped from windows before flames engulfed the China Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Okinawa's Naha Airport on Monday. No one was hurt.