Boeing Issues Warning About Engine Icing on Dreamliner Planes

Boeing has warned airlines to keep some 747-8 and 787 aircraft away from certain storms because of possible icing problems in engines, CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans reports.

The aircraft manufacturer sent a message to "customers who operate some GE-powered engines after instances of ice crystal icing that resulted in temporary diminished engine performance," spokesman Marc Birtel said in a statement.

Boeing said pilots should keep the planes at least 50 nautical miles from storms that may contain ice crystals until General Electric can make improvements to the "GEnx" engines.

Only a small number of the engines have had a problem with ice crystals, the statement said.

Boeing began delivering its 787 Dreamliners in 2011. The model is billed as a super-efficient, high-technology airliner of the future, and it flew without major problems for a year.

But a battery fire forced the diversion of an All Nippon Airways flight in January 2013. The entire fleet of 50 planes was grounded for four months while Boeing made repairs.

Later, a United Airlines Dreamliner made an emergency landing in Houston with brake problems and a fire broke out on an unoccupied Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner in London. There also have been investigations into a faulty fuel pump indicator, an electric panel, a plane oven and emergency beacons.