Honeywell says participating in Boeing 787 fire investigation

Honeywell International Inc said on Monday it was invited by UK investigators to participate in the probe of a fire aboard a Boeing Co 787 that occurred on Friday at Heathrow airport in London.

Separately, a source with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters on Monday that the emergency locator transmitter was being looked at for possible involvement in the fire. Honeywell makes the device for the 787.

Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch is the lead investigator of the fire, with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing. Boeing declined to comment.

"Honeywell has been invited to participate in the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 fire investigation by the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch," said Honeywell in a statement.

"We've sent technical experts to Heathrow to assist with the investigation; however at this time it is premature to speculate on the cause of the fire. We will continue to work closely with Boeing and the NTSB and await the analysis and output of the investigation before drawing any conclusions."

(Reporting by Alwyn Scott in Seattle and Andrea Shala-Esa in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)