ABOUT SMOKE AND FIRE


Ask any pilot what their worst fear is, and one of the responses you will most likely hear is FIRE! By definition, inflight fire is one of the most challenging problems you could encounter while at altitude.


A CAA study looked at aircraft accidents due to onboard fire discovered the following: The average time it took for an aircraft with an active fire to become catastrophically uncontrollable was less than 20 minutes. testing showed an unchecked fire can become uncontrollable in just 8-10 minutes.


The average time for a crew to get their aircraft onto the ground was around the 17 minute mark. That’s not much time to spare!


Un-contained being the important word here.


A historical FAA study found reports of nearly 400 wiring failures onboard aircraft. 84% of these were burned, loose, damaged, shorted, failed, chafed or broken. The Swissair accident was due to faulty wiring, with a secondary prominent factor being the flammability of materials that ignited and propagated the fire. The crash occurred just 16 minutes after the first alert message.


Between 1990 and 2010 there have been 18 major accidents involving in-flight fires which resulted in fatalities. During the 1990’s, the US saw, on average, one flight a day diverting due to smoke; and a report by IATA suggests there are more than 1,000 smoke related events annually.


That’s about 1 in 5,000 flights which is a pretty big number when you consider how many flight you will do in your career, or how many movements there are worldwide every day.


In 2010, a UPS B747 freighter crashed in Dubai following a main cargo deck fire which ultimately led to loss of control of the aircraft. The pilots were


incapacitated earlier however due to the rapid build up of smoke in the flight deck.


What can you do?


Finding the source should be a top priority. That means working out where the smoke is coming from.


If it is coming from something electronic switch it off. If it is something in the cabin then it might be locatable, reachable and extinguishable. Don’t forget to check the lav.


One of the biggest challenges in dealing with a fire in the cabin is the communication between the cabin and the flight deck.


• If you are trying to communicate the severity of the situation, ask open, non-leading questions:


• “How much smoke?” could lead to “lots/loads/a ton”. Instead, try “Can you see the rear of the cabin?”


• Establish whether you can see where the smoke is coming from, if you can get to the source, you can put it out:


• Ask about the color and smell of the smoke. Consider PBEs early on to protect your breathing.


Make a plan – part of the crew should focus on fire procedures and pilot needs to fly the aircraft!


Regulations around the world require crew familiarity and training on all emergency equipment found on board the aircraft. Further, they require hand-held fire extinguishers in crew, passenger and cargo compartments suitable for class A, B and C fires. Passengers are also considered in the regulations. They too must be briefed on the location and use of fire extinguishers.


"Fighting a fire onboard an aircraft is inherently different from fighting a fire in your home. Because escape is not an option


at altitude, you must be vigilant and aggressive when battling a fire on your aircraft."


Inflight Fire and Smoke 2


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