Honeywell transmitter eyed possible cause of 787 fire

(Reuters) — Investigators are looking at an emergency locator transmitter built by Honeywell International Inc. as the possible cause of a fire on board a Boeing Co. Dreamliner in London last week, according to a source familiar with the probe.

The transmitter uses a lithium manganese battery, said the source, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

Honeywell confirmed earlier that it was participating in the U.K.-led investigation into a fire on a 787 operated by Ethiopian Airlines at Heathrow airport outside London on Friday.

Experts have said lithium-ion batteries likely did not cause Friday's fire, allaying fears about a return of the problem that grounded the Dreamliner for more than three months earlier this year, when one battery caught fire and another overheated.