Fresh safety worries have surfaced as a Boeing 787 Dreamliner is grounded in Japan.

The national airline has withdrawn one of its aeroplanes after white smoke was spotted emanating from the craft. Warning lights in the cockpit indicated a possible issue with the main battery and charger and a fuel cell was also thought to be leaking. Boeing has stated it is aware of the issue.

This latest setback comes almost exactly a year since the company's worldwide fleet was grounded on January 16th 2013. At that time, the aircraft remained on the ground for three months as Boeing were forced to redesign all aspects of its battery.

Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group, said: "If you continue to see incidents like these, you've got a mounting bill from taking jets offline and repairing their battery systems." He added this would also cause an image problem for the affected company.

The US National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed it is aware of the issue and will gather information. It is currently investigating a fire that broke out on a 787 last year and is due to release its findings soon.