A JAL flight (not pictured) en route to San Francisco from Tokyo had to terminate in Honolulu, Hawaii, after engine problems.
- JAL Tokyo to San Francisco flight diverted to Honolulu after engine oil pressure dropped
- Pilots shut down engine and requested emergency landing, as per airline protocol
- Comes after wing cracks discovered in 40 in-production planes
(CNN) -- A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines (JAL) was forced to land prematurely in Hawaii, after pilots shut down one of its engines.
Flight JL002 with 171 people on board was en route from Tokyo to San Francisco when an oil pressure warning was received, forcing the pilots to terminate the flight eight hours in.
"At the approach to Honolulu the oil pressure was getting low, so the engine was shutdown," a JAL spokesperson told CNN.
"When one engine of an aircraft with twin engines is stopped, the airline must declare an emergency so the flight can have priority to be guided by air traffic control and apply for landing.
"There was no injured passenger or crew.
"It was not battery trouble; the cause is being investigated."
MORE: Behind the scenes: Boeing's Dreamliner battery fix
Boeing offers a public tour of its assembly plant in Everett, Washington. It's the largest building in the world by volume, covering 98.3 acres. About 110,000 visitors tour the factory every year. 
The planes, like this 777 Worldliner, start with partially constructed fuselages, covered with a green, temporary protective coating. 
The aircrafts' bodies are joined and their wings are attached. Boeing's 777 holds the nonstop long distance flight record of any commercial jetliner: 11,664 nautical miles (13,422 actual miles). 
Then, engines are attached to the wings. Airliners are able to fly long distances around the globe with only two engines thanks to gigantic, efficient power plants like the 777's GE90-115B, described by Guinness as the world's most powerful commercial jet engine. 
This 19,000-pound monster is so wide, Boeing says it's theoretically possible to fit the body of a Boeing 737 airliner through it. 
The plant also assembles the 787 Dreamliner, which is lighter and more efficient thanks to carbon fiber reinforced plastic and other composite building materials. Its oversized windows have no shades because they're electronically dimmable. 
Large, pre-assembled portions of the Dreamliner are made in cities around the globe and flown to the Everett factory aboard a modified 747 called the Dreamlifter, which Boeing says can haul more cargo than any other aircraft in the world. 
In 2013, a Dreamlifter carrying a 787 fuselage landed without incident at the wrong airport in Wichita, Kansas, on a runway a half mile shorter than it usually uses. Despite the shorter runway, the Dreamlifter was able to resume its journey the following day. 
After assembly, painting and testing, Boeing rolls out its new planes for delivery to airlines around the world. Watching Boeing make giant airliners
Watching Boeing make giant airliners
Watching Boeing make giant airliners
Watching Boeing make giant airliners
Watching Boeing make giant airliners
Watching Boeing make giant airliners
Bringing giant parts to the factory
Delivery to airlines ... and your airport
Gallery: Boeing's giant factory Hairline cracks discovered
The latest Boeing Dreamliner - the 787-9 model - appears in launch customer Air New Zealand's new livery. The airline will take delivery of the aircraft in October 2014 for use on flights initially between Auckland and Perth and then between Auckland and Tokyo and Auckland and Shanghai. 
Boeing's 787-9 Dreamliner took off on its maiden voyage on Tuesday, September 17. The 787-9 is 20 feet longer and holds 40 more passengers than the 787-8, which carries between 210 and 250 passengers. 
Besides carrying more passengers, the new version of the Dreamliner also can carry more cargo and fly further. 
Boeing began final assembly of the first 787-9 Dreamliner on May 30 in Everett, Washington, when employees began joining large sections of the aircraft together. 
The Dreamliner 787-8 got off to a rough start. Just more than a year after its first commercial flight, the aircraft was grounded after batteries overheated on two flights. Earlier this year, this All Nippon Airways 787 made an emergency landing because of battery troubles. Aviation safety regulators have approved Boeing's battery fixes and Dreamliners have started to fly again. 
A LOT Polish Airlines 787, with a redesigned lithium-ion battery system, performs a test flight in March at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The Dreamliner's distinctive wings sweep back at 32 degrees. 
The use of composite materials on the Dreamliner makes larger window cutouts possible. Composites have replaced aluminum as the predominant material in the 787. The 777 is made up of 50% aluminum and 12% composites, compared with the Dreamliner's nearly 50% makeup of composites and just 20% aluminum. 
Pilots training to fly the Boeing Dreamliner will train on one of two 787 full-flight simulators, like the one shown here, at the company's training center in Miami. Capt. Gary Lee Beard is shown demonstrating one of the simulators on August 29 in Miami. 
Air India's 787-8 Dreamliner got a water cannon salute as Australia's first Dreamliner passenger flight landed in Sydney on August 30. The latest Dreamliner's debut
The latest Dreamliner's debut
The latest Dreamliner debut
Assemblying the first 787-9
A troubled first year in the air
The battery fix is tested
Passenger-friendly innovations
A Dreamliner flight is cause for celebration
Gallery: Boeing 787-9 dreamliner The diversion came just days after Boeing's announcement that hairline cracks had been found in the wings of 40 in-production planes.
The Dreamliner can do THAT? While teething problems are common with most new models of aircraft -- the Dreamliner fleet was famously grounded in January 2013 after numerous problems with its battery -- Boeing admits that reliability is a work in progress.
"The Dreamliner has a dispatch reliability rate of 98%," Rob Henderson, Boeing's communications director Japan told CNN.
"But we're improving that all the time, to get it up to where the 777 and 737 are -- above 99%."
Dispatch reliability is the percentage of planes that leave within 15 minutes of the scheduled takeoff time, assuming no technical reasons for delay.
The Dreamliner has a dedicated "Operations Control Center" that helps assist with problems as they occur.
"The center monitors every 787 in flight; it identifies problems and works with the airline to provide maintenance, sometimes even in flight," said Henderson.
MORE: Best of Boeing: 10 revolutionary aircraft
Media focus
Part of the Dreamliner's problem has been due to heightened media scrutiny, says Tom Ballantine, chief correspondent at Orient Aviation magazine.
"Because of the early dramatic grounding of the plane every little thing that happens now gets reported," he told CNN.
"But the Dreamliner hasn't really become a total nightmare. New models do historically have a lot of teething problems.
"The 747 had quite a few issues when it first entered service, and hairline cracks were also found in the wings of Airbus A380s (along with other problems). But none of this was a threat to the safe operation of the aircraft, which were repaired during downtime."
"These issues with the 787 are certainly frustrating for the airlines but you can be sure they are being well compensated. All the airlines I have spoken to think it's a great plane with a fantastic future."
JAL said it was working with Boeing to identify the issue with the engine.
The plane would remain parked at Honolulu until the issue had been resolved, it added.
Where they build Boeing planes
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