FAA to review of Boeing 787, but calls plane safe Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 9:28 am, Friday, January 11, 2013 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting a comprehensive review of the design, manufacture and assembly of the Boeing 787, but government officials declared the plane safe despite recent incidents including a fire and a fuel leak earlier this week. Michael Huerta, the FAA administrator, said at a news conference Friday there is nothing in the data the agency has seen to suggest the plane isn't safe, but the agency wants to figure out why the safety-related incidents are occurring. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood went a step further: "I believe this plane is safe, and I would have absolutely no reservations about boarding one of these planes and taking a flight," he said. The plane is made with lightweight composite materials instead of aluminum. A fire ignited Monday in the battery pack of an auxiliary power unit of a Japan Airlines 787 empty of passengers as the plane sat on the tarmac at Boston's Logan International Airport. ANA spokeswoman Ayumi Kunimatsu said a very small amount of oil was discovered leaking from the left engine of a 787 flight from southern Japan's Miyazaki airport to Tokyo. "Every new commercial aircraft has issues as it enters service," said Ray Conner, the president and CEO of Boeing's commercial aircraft division, who joined Huerta and LaHood at the news conference. [...] FAA's decision to conduct a comprehensive review of the 787 is fairly remarkable, although it was necessary to reassure the public, airline analysts said. The battery that burned on Monday is used to start the plane's auxiliary power unit, a small engine in the back of the plane that that acts as a generator to provides power on the ground, or if the jet engines quit.