2nd Quater 2009 Smoke Signals April 2009 EVASWorldwide

Case Study: Boeing 777 Smoke Accident

On February 26, 2007 at 1000, a contactors of the right main bus. wiring. The flight crew responded Boeing 777-222ex- The heat generated during the to the bus failure and a burning perienced a smoke event at failure resulted in the contactor smell by shutting down the right London Heathrow Airport, UK. casings becoming compromised, engine and taxiing to a nearby The accident occurred during causing molten metal droplets stand. The Airfield Fire Service at- engine start after pushback from to fall down onto the insulation tended the aircraft when it arrived the stand. After the right gen- blankets below. The insulation on stand and entered the Main erator came online an electrical blankets ignited and a fire spread Equipment Centre where they dis- failure occurred in the right main underneath a floor panel to the covered significant smoke but no bus. The failure resulted in severe opposite electrical panel (P205), fire. The passengers were evacu- internal arcing and short cir- causing heat and fire damage ated uneventfully via steps. cuits inside the two main power to structure, cooling ducts and continued on page 2

Getting Control of LOC

Front and centre on all new head- The specialised HUD symbology al attitude and recover the aircraft up displays being installed in Fe- is a product of a broader pro- back to normal parameters or dEx Express widebodies will be a gramme within FedEx starting otherwise risk a loss-of-control single number in a large font that later this year to arm pilots with (LOC) accident. appears only when a pilot needs it the knowledge, simulator skills continued on page 3 most - the g-load on the aircraft. and equipment to detect and recover large swept-wing aircraft As an aircraft upset recovery aid, from in-flight upsets - situations the G-meter’s simplicity belies the where an aircraft for whatever years of analysis, flight-testing reason is pitched, rolled or yawed and internal funding that went beyond the normal limits. Upsets into FedEx’s decision to include it. require pilots to assess the unusu-

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May 11 - 14, 2009 EBACE: Geneva, Switzerland Smoke Signals is written and produced by June 24, 2009 Allison Markey, Aviation Safety Specialist Safety Operating Systems NBAA Regional: St. Paul, MN 1 Case Study: Boeing 777 Smoke Accident cont. continued from page 1 smoke 42 seconds after the initial beneath the power panel. There The investigation identified the electrical failure event and this was extensive fire damage to the following causal factors: triggered the ‘Equipment Cooling fire-retardant insulation blankets Override’ mode. Three minutes located behind the power panel 1. An internal failure of the Right and 13 seconds after the failure and beneath the panel under the Generator Circuit Breaker or Right event the flight crew first noticed floor. Nearby components in- Bus Tie Breaker contactor on the an electrical burning smell. It was cluding a floor panel, equipment P200 power panel inside the not until 4 minutes and 30 sec- cooling system ducting, other Main Equipment Centre resulted onds after the failure event that wire bundles and some structural in severe internal arcing and the flight crew became aware of frames and stringers in the vicin- short-circuits which melted the smoke – this was when the tug ity were later determined to have contactor casings. The root cause driver advised on interphone that suffered sufficient heat damage to of contactor failure could not be there was a lot of smoke com- require replacement.  determined. ing out of the vents. No smoke was seen in the flight deck until 2. The open base of the P200 pow- after the APU was shut down – 14 er panel allowed molten metal minutes after the failure event. droplets from the failed contac- The flight crew’s lack of awareness tors to drop down onto the insula- of the significant smoke in the tion blankets and ignite them. MEC may have delayed their deci- sion to shut down and evacuate 3. The aircraft’s electrical protec- the passengers. Their focus was tion system was not designed to on the bus failure and a percep- detect and rapidly remove power tion of an overheat problem; the from a contactor suffering from possibility of a fire in the MEC severe internal arcing and short- appeared to have been dismissed. circuits. If the aircraft’s warning system Above: Fire damage to P200 power panel had provided a ‘smoke’ warning to (cover removed), showing burnt-out RGCB 4. The contactors had internal and RBTB contactors (viewed looking for- the flight crew when smoke was ward and to the right) design features that probably first detected, then the flight crew contributed to the uncontained might have expedited the shut- failures. down and evacuation.

The fire and smoke in the MEC An inspection inside the MEC was caused primarily by ignition after the accident revealed ex- of the insulation blankets from tensive heat and fire damage to hot molten metal droplets falling the P200 power panel which is down from the failed contactors. located to the right of the nose Some of the floor panel burning gear wheel well (see Figure 1). and ancillary equipment burning The worst affected components would also have contributed to of the power panel were the the smoke. Right Generator Circuit Breaker Above: Burnt aircraft structure and insula- (RGCB) and Right Bus Tie Breaker tion blankets located directly below P200 The flight crew did not become (RBTB) contactors, parts of which power panel (viewed looking down and aft; aware of any smoke until some had melted and vaporised (see the floor panel has been removed) time after the insulation blan- Figure 2). There was evidence kets started to burn. The smoke that molten metal had dripped Final Report by AAIB published April detector in the MEC detected down onto the insulation blankets 16, 2009 2 Getting Control of LOC cont. continued from page 1 board that experienced an upset in the classroom and in the Flight International joined Fe- and subsequent LOC initiated by simulator using the industry-de- dEx experimental test pilot an uncommanded rudder fault. veloped recovery aid, which was Bob Moreau in a Boeing MD-11 recently updated for the second simulator on 18 December at Although the industry as a whole time to include recovering a large the company’s headquarters in came together in the aftermath of swept-wing aircraft in the high- Memphis, Tennessee, to perform Flight 427 to develop the Airplane altitude environment. unusual attitude recoveries with Upset Recovery Training Aid, a the HUD system and discuss the workbook and video explaining Unlike the training aid, which company’s unique approach to how swept-wing aircraft should assumes the aircraft is control- upset training, a curriculum that be recovered from upsets that lable through the primary flight may become a standard training cause unusual attitudes, accidents controls, FedEx is leaning toward tool for FedEx pilots later this year. continue. Several recent high- teaching its 4,700 pilots to be profile crashes (see table) that more open minded as to the FedEx is not alone in its efforts claimed all lives on board reveal cause of the upset and method as the industry as a whole is that pilots in each case did not of recovery. “We don’t assume a mobilising to reduce LOC ac- properly handle low-speed normal aircraft,” says Moreau. “A cidents, events the Flight Safety scenarios in the high-altitude big aircraft doesn’t get into those Foundation says are the top killers phases of flight, a finding safety situations unless something is of crews and passengers in the experts say is a symptom of amiss.” airline industry. A list of LOC ac- inadequate knowledge and train- cidents between 1998 and 2007 ing in relation to swept-wing jets compiled by Boeing reveals that despite having upset recovery there were 22 that resulted in training materials available. more than 2,051 fatalities world- wide. Air transport-certificated pilots do not have “the baseline knowl- SPECIAL HAZARD TRAINING edge that we’ve believed them to have”, says John Cox, chief execu- The US Federal Aviation Adminis- tive of Washington-based Safety tration, which had largely stayed Operating Systems and a former on the sidelines on LOC preven- airline pilot and top safety official tion despite a long-standing Na- with the Air Line Pilots Associa- Airlines are now training pilots more tional Transportation Safety Board tion. extensively on “special hazard” LOC prevention in initial and recurrent recommendation to train crews simulator training. “to respond to sudden, unusual The FAA’s new rule, expected to or unexpected aircraft upsets”, be finalised by late 2010, will give As such, the FedEx programme proposed early in January making carriers five years after that to is likely to teach pilots to adopt certain “special hazard” LOC train- implement a host of new training alternate control strategies, using ing a mandatory element of initial requirements for pilots, including secondary or tertiary flight-con- and recurrent simulator training upset-recovery scenarios in the trol methods, to regain and retain for airline pilots. simulator. control of the aircraft. FedEx’s 4,700 pilots receive five days of The NTSB issued its recommenda- PREVENTION TECHNIQUES flight training a year, composed tion in 1996 after the fatal 1994 of one day of ground school, one crash near Pittsburgh Interna- Like many airlines, FedEx in the day of computer-based training tional airport of USAir Flight 427, past has voluntarily included and three days of simulator train- a Boeing 737-300 with 132 on some LOC prevention techniques ing. 3 Getting Control of LOC cont.

FedEx’s assessment in part comes transfer of learning for unusual OVER CONTROL from its own data, including a attitude recoveries, events the late 2005 incident where FedEx participants had experienced One observed impact caused by McDonnell Douglas DC-10 pilots numerous times during all phases the lack of g-cues is that pilots on approach to Minneapolis/St of flight training. The study, tend to over-control and expe- Paul airport experienced an upset however, revealed that negative dite recoveries in the FFS while caused by the failure of a wing transfer occurred when exposing doing the opposite in an aircraft, flap mechanism, one of six upsets pilots to upsets (events that lead an effect FedEx saw in the Cal- involving flap or elevator damage to an unusual attitude) that must span studies and in 30° pitch-up over a 20-year span for the carrier. be recovered, a finding that may manoeuvres in MD-10 and Boeing An internal safety task force that be linked to inexperience of pilots 747 aircraft. keeps tabs of the carrier’s risks with upsets. decided to launch an advanced By adding the G-meter readout manoeuvre - upset recovery The industry was reminded of on its HUD, however, researchers training (AM-URT) programme the dangers of “negative” training found pilots were not only much to better understand what types in simulators in November 2001 more aggressive in delivering the of upsets and advanced recovery when American Airlines Flight correct amount of control input techniques could accurately be 587, an A300, crashed in New York in aircraft, but also slowed their learned in a simulator, and which after the first officer over-con- control input forces and timing in might be better suited for a train- trolled rudder inputs in response the FFS, both desired outcomes. ing aircraft. The group also sepa- to wake turbulence and snapped rately recommended that FedEx the composite vertical stabiliser The finding is aiding FedEx as it purchase liquid crystal HUDs and off the aircraft. develops a long-term strategy for infrared-based enhanced vision LOC prevention, which will ide- systems for its entire fleet by 2015 American, as part of its advanced ally include academic training to to boost pilots’ situational aware- aircraft manoeuvring programme, teach key concepts, in-flight train- ness. had been teaching pilots in the ing to provide “real world rele- simulator to counter such upsets vance” and teach critical recovery FedEx contracted with aerospace by using rudder control. Unfor- skills, and FFS training to teach research group Calspan in Buf- tunately, the simulators did not “key type-specific procedures”, falo, New York to evaluate the adequately portray “the actual says Moreau.  AM-URT with FedEx MD-11 and large build-up in sideslip angle Airbus A300 line pilots. The test and sideloads that would ac- used Calspan’s variable stability company such rudder inputs in Bombardier Learjet 25, as well an actual airplane”, says the NTSB as its aerobatic Beechcraft F33C final report on the accident. Bonanza and MD-11 and A300 Check us out on the web: full-flight simulators. FedEx’s Moreau says even before AA 587, airlines had begun to www.evasworldwide.com One key idea that emerged from question how far to push ma- the two-year study, which in- noeuvre training in simulators, volved 20 FedEx line pilots flying which lack g-cues pilots would in FFS and in aircraft, was that experience in an aircraft. a simulator can deliver positive 4 AirTran Flight Evacuated at RIC Smoke Events

January 4, 2009 plane’s air conditioning system. The next pages chronologi- An AirTran flight from Richmond Some oil may have gotten on the cally outline news stories of International Airport to Orlando unit causing the smoke. smoke events which occurred had to be evacuated before during the 1st Quarter of 2009. takeoff Sunday afternoon due to Air Tran Boeing 717 Many are taken from news smoke in the cabin. There were facilities worldwide and from 119 passengers and 5 crew mem- aviation safety reporting net- bers onboard at the time. Every- works. Daily Smoke Briefs are one exited the plane and returned distributed by EVASWorldwide to the terminal. No one was hurt. through email. To sign up for Daily Smoke Briefs, go to It appears the smoke was coming www.evasworldwide.com from the unit used to power the 2 Air Canada Smoke Events

January 14, 2009 January 16, 2009 suppression system into the cargo An Air Canada Airbus A321-200, An Air Canada Jazz Canadair hold, declared an emergency and registration C-GITY perform- CRJ-200ER, registration C- returned to Vancouver, where the ing flight AC-133 from Toronto FDJA performing flight QK-460 airplane landed safely on runway Pearson,ON to Calgary,AB (Can- from Vancouver,BC to Fort 26R amid emergency services. The ada) with 179 people on board, McMurray,AB (Canada) with 43 cargo smoke warning ceased after was about 30 minutes before people on board, was climbing about 5 minutes. Calgary, when the crew noticed about 90nm north of Vancouver, an avionics smoke odour in the when the crew received a cargo cockpit. No emergency was de- smoke warning shortly followed clared and no priority requested. by a cargo fan fail message. The The airplane landed safely. crew completed the according checklists, discharged the fire Eagle flight makes emergency landing in Killeen

January 5, 2009 American Eagle flight 3505 made an emergency Industry data suggests that in-flight fire landing Monday afternoon in Killeen after pilots remains the fourth leading cause of air car- reported smoke in the cockpit. rier fatalities worldwide . On average in North Andrea Huguely, a spokesperson for American, America, there are three diversions due to says there were 50 people aboard the Embraer smoke every day according to the FAA. It is 145 regional jet, including crew members, aboard estimated that over 100 smoke events occur flight 3505 enroute from Dallas to Killeen. worldwide per month. Smoke/Fire/Fumes is a The pilots declared an emergency as a precau- subject the industry continues to combat. tion, Huguely said. She says the captain reported “smoky haze’’ in the cockpit. The aircraft landed safely at 12:30 p.m. The flight taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned as usual. The aircraft was taken out of service pending inspection.

5 Emergency landing for Virgin Atlantic jet

January 12, 2009 Shannon International Airport, cockpit appeared to have short- A Virgin Atlantic flight from Lon- The Telegraph reported. ed. don to Chicago made an emer- All 156 people disembarked as The aircraft was grounded until gency the airline arranged for overnight Airbus officials could examine it. landing in Ireland because of accommodations, said Paul The passengers were scheduled smoke behind the cockpit, airline Charles, the company’s director of to continue on to Chicago Mon- officials said. communications. day aboard an Aer Lingus flight, Some 20 minutes after take-off, He said there was no fire, but the newspaper said. the pilot of the Airbus A340 re- preliminary investigation showed quested landing permission at two wires in the galley behind the Smoke in the Cockpit Galley fire & smoke in Casablanca

January 15, 2009 January 19, 2009 A Regional 1 Airlines de Havilland A Tuifly Nordic AB -200, registration SE-RFP perform- Dash 8-100, registration C-GZTC ing flight 6B-723 from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Boa Vista (Cape performing flight TSH-1850 from Verde) with 239 passengers, diverted to Casablanca (Morocco) after Calgary,AB to Fort MacKay,AB (Cana- a fire broke out in one of the galleys. Flight attendants were able to da), had just levelled off at FL240 after extinguish the fire quickly emptying two extinguishers, the flight departure from Calgary, when the crew still decided to divert as a precaution. flight crew smelled smoke and shortly thereafter saw smoke. The cabin crew The airplane was checked out and was able to continue the jour- confirmed seeing smoke in the cabin, ney after about two hours on the ground. The return flight 6B-724 too. The crew requested to descend reached Copenhagen with a delay of 2:20 hours. and return to Calgary. While at 11000 feet the crew turned off both bleed TuiFly Nordic AB stated, that an electrical short circuit in one of the air valves, which brought the smoke rear galley ovens caused emission of smoke in a limited area. to dissipate. An eventless landing fol- lowed. The tour operator Star Tours had reported earlier, that a small fire in the galley was put out by the use of two fire extinguishers. Southwest emergency due to smoke

January 18, 2009 A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, flight WN- United passengers report smoke 295 from Sacramento,CA to Burbank,CA (USA), January 15, 2009 returned to Sacramento after the crew declared The crew of a United Airlines Airbus A320- emergency reporting a smell of smoke. The air- 200, registration N427UA performing flight plane landed safely 26 minutes after liftoff and was UA-195 from Philadelphia,PA to Los Angeles,CA evacuated. Four passengers were attended medi- (USA), declared emergency and diverted to Las cally, however no injuries occured. Vegas,NV after passengers reported to have smelled smoke. The airplane landed safely, no No traces of fire were found. traces of fire or smoke were found.

Airport officials told, that following a two hour search a permitted small container of pepper spray EVASWorldwide, Inc was found in the checked luggage, supposedly be- 300 Corporate Drive, Suite 2 ing the source of the smell. Mahwah, NJ 07430 201-995-9571 www.evasworldwide.com 6 Cockpit smoke: Boeing 737 Smoke in the Lavatory

January 29, 2009 January 31, 2009 The crew of a Canadian North Boeing 737-200, An Air Canada Jazz Canadair CRJ-705, registration registration C-GFPW performing flight 5T-444 C-GJAZ performing flight QK-8320 from Vancouver,BC from Edmonton,AB to Yellowknife,NT (Canada) to Calgary,AB (Canada) with 45 people on board, had with 42 people on board, saw smoke within the just taken off Vancouver, when the crew smelled an cockpit which they identified to come from the odour and received a smoke indication for the aft lav- window heating system. They decided to return atory. Flight attendants told the flight crew, that the to Edmonton as a precaution and landed without smoke detector in the aft lavatory had activated, they further incident. Maintenance determined, that could smell smoke and could see smoke. The pilots the wiring to the captain’s #2 sliding window was decided to return to Vancouver, where the airplane at fault.The captain’s window had been removed landed safely about 10 minutes after departure. The and a pane been replaced. Canadian North be- crew did not declare emergency, however emergency lieves, that during reinstallation of the window services met the aircraft after landing. the wiring was not routed correctly. Southwest emergency diversion in Jacksonville, FL

January 2009 The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue their maintenance, and now they A Southwest passenger plane en staged at the end of the runway will handle the passengers going route to Washington, DC from as a precaution. forward.” Orlando had to make an emer- All passengers taken off the gency landing in Jacksonville plane. No one was hurt. after the pilot noticed smoke in JAX’s Spokesperson, Michael the cockpit. Stewart, says Southwest Airlines Flight 3726 made an emergency is handling the investigation landing at Jacksonville Inter- now. national Airport around 2:45 “Fire rescue has already looked Saturday afternoon. at the plane, they could not find One-hundred-six people were on anything, so this is now a logis- board. tics issue with Southwest and Fire extinguished, flight diverted

January 29, 2009 A small fire on an Xtra Airways charter jet caused it to be diverted to Bush Intercontinental Airport American Eagle returns to AMA today. January 2009 The flight was heading to Laredo from Alexandria, A twin-turboprob (SF-340) American Eagle La., when the fire was reported about 10 a.m., said plane with 12 passengers and crew members Marlene McClinton, spokeswoman for the Houston aboard returned to Amarillo and made a safe Airport System. landing about 1:30 p.m. The crew reported the The fire was extinguished quickly and the jet smell of smoke in the cockpit shortly after take- landed safely with no reported injuries, she said. off for Dallas-Fort Worth.

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7 FedEx: Fire alert DHL: Rejected takeoff

February 6, 2009 February 10, 2009 A Fedex Boeing 727-200, freight flight FX-2327 A DHL Air UK Boeing 757-200, registration G-BIKZ from Billings,MT to Springfield,MO (USA) with 3 performing freight flight QY-4762 from Hamburg crew, diverted to Denver,CO after a smoke detec- Fuhlsbüttel to Leipzig (Germany), rejected takeoff tor in the cargo bays raised fire alert. The airplane from Hamburg around 22:00 local (21:00Z) due to a landed safely on runway 35L, emergency services fire alert in one of the cargo holds. could not find any trace of smoke or fire. Emergency services deployed in full force and un- The airplane was subsequently towed off the loaded the airplane, but could not find any trace of fire runway. NTSB investigators have arrived on the or smoke. It is therefore currently assumed, that the scene and are going through all cargo containers smoke detector triggered due to a technical malfunc- on board to identify the source of the alert. tion.

Defence aircraft makes emergency landing

January 28, 2009 The Portuguese-registered plane, Strategic Aviation employees An aeroplane carrying Australian operated by private contractor told the ABC’s 7:30 Report that Defence Force personnel to the Strategic Aviation, is contracted the company put profit be- Middle East was forced to make by the Australian Defence Force fore safety and claimed it had an emergency landing at Darwin to carry passengers and cargo to breached airline safety training Airport in the early hours of this overseas assignments. rules. morning. The private contractor operating Strategic Aviation strenuously A problem with an onboard air- the flight, Strategic Aviation, says denied those allegations and conditioning system is thought the crew noticed a strong smell defended its record. to have caused the smoke that coming from the air-conditioning forced the A330 to make the system and the problem is now landing 40 minutes into an eight- being investigated. hour flight. Eighteen months ago former Emergency landing in Charlottesville

February 5, 2009 An emergency landing Thursday afternoon at the Charlottesville-Albemarle airport ended without Trans States, smoke in the cabin incident. February 10, 2009 Shortly after 2:00 pm, officials got word that a The crew of a Trans States Airlines Embraer United Airlines flight from Chicago to Richmond ERJ-145, registration N842HK performing flight would be making an unscheduled stop at CHO (United) AX-8090 from Washington Dulles,DC because of smoke in the cockpit. to Saint Louis,MO (USA) with 37 passengers, The plane landed safely, and the 30 passengers on declared emergency reporting smoke in the board were evacuated from the plane. cabin and diverted to Louisville,KY, where the Jason Burch, the CHO Public Information Officer airplane landed safely on runway 17L 34 min- says, “At this point, mechanics will come in. They utes later. will conduct and inspection and find what faulty part probably caused the smoke.”

8 Air Canada Jazz, smoke smell

February 17, 2009 There was a smell of smoke out the baggage compart- When the crew of an Air Canada paired with a light haze in the ment, but did not see or smell Jazz de Havilland Dash 8-300, cabin. The APU was shut down any smoke. A few minutes later registration C-FRUZ performing and checked by maintenance the smoke warning illuminated flight QK-8170 from Calgary,AB prior to passengers boarding again. The crew decided to to Edmonton,AB (Canada) with the airplane, no fault was found return to Calgary, even though 42 people on board, boarded the and the airplane was released. they didn’t see or smell any airplane, maintenance person- After departure while climbing smoke. nel had already fired up the APU through 10000 feet the crew The Canadian TSB concluded in order to warm up the aircraft. noticed a smoke master warning their report about the incident: The flight crew found the cabin for the baggage compartment, “When the aircraft was deplaned extremely hot, the duct temper- which extinguished after a few the groomers commented that ature was around 100 degrees. seconds. The cabin crew checked it smelled like smoke.”

Embraer Smoke in Cockpit Smoke evacuation

February 21, 2009 February 13, 2009 A Cirrus Airlines Embraer ERJ-170 on behalf of Luf- A Cimber Air Aerospatiale ATR-72-500, registration thansa, registration D-ALIA performing flight C9-1145/ OY-CIN performing flight QI-332 from Karup to LH-1145 from Muenster to Frankfurt/Main (Germany) Copenhagen Kastrup (Denmark) with 19 people with 40 passengers, returned to Muenster after smoke on board, was evacuated right before departure was noticed in both cabin and cockpit. The landing 7 due to smoke in the cockpit. minutes after takeoff was safe. Emergency services found no trace of a fire. The air- Emergency services could not find any trace of fire. craft reentered service the following day. The airline reported, that the smoke turned out to OY-CIN did have several difficulties with its air con- have been steam out of a malfunctioning air condi- ditioning system recently, so the current suspect is tioning system. another fault in the air conditioning system.

Northwest flight diverted to Grand Rapids

February 2009 A commuter plane operated by was diverted to Gerald R. Ford International Air- American Eagle smoke alert port after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. February 26, 2009 The crew of an American Eagle Embraer Flight 2125, a Northwest Airlink flight operated by ERJ-145, registration N613AE performing flight Northwest subsidiary Pinnacle Aviation, had taken MQ-3890 from Cedar Rapids,IA to Dallas Ft. off from Minneapolis and was headed for Cleve- Worth,TX (USA), declared emergency after a land when it landed in Grand Rapids about 6 p.m. smoke detector went off in the cargo depart- Sunday. ment and passengers reported smelling smoke shortly before touch down. The airplane landed The 39 passengers were immediately transferred safely and was checked out by emergency to another flight to continue on to Cleveland. services.

Airport spokesman Phil Johnson tells The Grand Rapids Press that the airport experiences “a num- ber of diversions throughout the year.” 9 Atlantic Southeast Fire Alitalia: Thick smoke!

February 28, 2009 March 13, 2009 An Atlantic Southeast Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 An Air One/Alitalia Airbus A330-200, registration EI- on behalf of Delta Airlines, flight EV-5563/DL-5563 DIR performing flight AP-629/AZ-629 from Chicago from Tallahassee,FL to Atlanta,GA (USA), was be- O’Hare,IL (USA) to Rome Fiumicino (Italy) with 240 ing prepared for departure at gate B3 in Tallahas- passengers, returned to O’Hare Airport after thick see with the crew on board and the passenger smoke entered cockpit and cabin after liftoff. The crew luggage already loaded. The 47 passengers performed a safe overweight landing 5 minutes after were still awaiting boarding, the crew working a liftoff. checklist, when the flight crew noticed heat be- hind them and saw smoke coming from the wall Alitalia (merged with Air One) reported, that the air- between cockpit and galley. Emergency services plane had problems with its air conditioning system responded to the emergency call and were able causing relatively thick smoke entering the cockpit to quickly extinguish the fire. No injuries occured. and cabin as the airplane climbed through 3000 feet.

Delta: Smoke over the Atlantic Emergency Landing

February 28, 2009 March 6, 2009 A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N727TW An Austrian Airlines (AUA) Boeing 737-800 performing flight DL-122 (departing Feb 27th) from New bound for Sofia in Bulgaria made an emer- York JFK,NY (USA) to Shannon (Ireland), was enroute over- gency landing at Vienna International Airport head the Atlantic south of Greenland (N55 W46) at FL390, (VIA) this afternoon (Fri). when the crew declared emergency reporting smoke in the cockpit and requested to turn back to Gander. The AUA spokeswoman Livia Dandrea-Böhm said airplane descended to 9500 feet and proceeded to Gan- the pilot had turned back a few minutes after der. 13 minutes after the initial call the crew requested taking off at VIA because of smoke in the all available emergency services for arrival in Gander. 41 aircraft’s cabin. minutes after the initial call the crew reported, that the situation had stabilized on board. The airplane landed safely in Gander 1:13 hours after the emergency call. Singapore Airlines Boeing 747: Fire alert

March 2, 2009 The crew of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration 9V-SFK performing freight Continental Smoke Alert flight SQ-7344 from Nairobi (Kenya) to Amsterdam March 11, 2009 (Netherlands), declared emergency reporting a A Continental Airlines Boeing 757-200, reg- fire alert and automatic activation of the cargo istration N19130 performing flight CO-145 from fire suppression system and diverted to Munich Madrid (Spain) to Newark,NJ (USA), diverted to (Germany). The aircraft landed safely, the crew Hartford,CT (USA) after a smoke detector in a remained on board, the fire brigades checked the lavatory raised alert. The aircraft landed safely, aircraft out, but it remained unclear whether there all passengers disembarked the airplane. had been any fire. The airplane was subsequently towed off the northern runway.

Singapore Airlines said, that the airplane carried Check us out on the web: flowers, mangos, other fruit and vegatables. The emanations by the mangos caused the smoke www.evasworldwide.com detectors to trigger, resulting in a false alert. 10 American Eagle: passengers smell smoke

February 26, 2009 smoke in the cargo department, American Eagle flight 3890 out of said witness Jamie Morrison, who Cedar Rapids, Iowa, made a safe works as a producer for CNN. emergency landing at Dallas / A light indicating a problem went Fort Worth International Airport off 300 feet from the runway, the just after 1 p.m. on Thursday, after pilot told passengers. smoke was detected. The crew is now restarting en- Fire sensors went off and pas- gines to carry out tests, Morrison sengers smelled smoke, a witness said. said. American Airlines flight 2461 also Fire trucks surrounded the plane issued an alert on Thursday after American Eagle Embraer 145 once it landed. smoke was reported and landed Officials said the sensor indicated safely at the airport. Emirates Flight Makes Emergency Landing

March 6, 2009 from the cabin. But, a passenger at 6.01am, and was the only Emir- An Emirates flight with 120 pas- on the plane told WAtoday.com. ates flight scheduled to depart sengers on board was forced au there was no smoke visible Perth this morning. to return to Perth International inside the jet. Westralia Airports Corporation Airport today after the crew called The passengers on Flight EK425 spokesman Malcolm Bradshaw an in-flight emergency to air traf- disembarked about 9am. said emergency vehicles and fire fic control. Emergency services workers crews had been alerted when the The crew of the Dubai-bound and several police officers then airport's emergency system was Airbus A340 made the call about boarded the plane. It is has been activated, but were not required 7.50am. The plane landed safely at parked away from the main termi- to respond to an emergency. the airport about 8.45am. nal while it is being examined by A Radio 6PR source earlier report- engineers. ed that smoke was seen escaping The flight had left Perth for Dubai SAFITA

The Royal Aeronautical Society recently endorsed a Specialist Paper, “Smoke, Fire and Fumes in Transport Aircraft (SAFITA),” authored by Captain EVAS deployed in Airbus John Cox, FRAeS, (Fellow of the Royal Air Society). A320 simulator at the The Specialist Paper shows the risks and layers of Jet Blue training facility, mitigation of Smoke/Fire/Fumes (S/F/F) in trans- Orlando, Florida port aircraft and what can be done to improve safety and decrease risk. Captain Cox remarks, “the ongoing acceptance and interest in SAFITA validates the industry’s recognition of S/F/F being a significant issue in commercial aviation.” In ad- dition to its significance, SAFITA has proposed a list of recommendations on how the industry can combat smoke. SAFITA is available for download EVASWorldwide, Inc at www.safeopsys.com or at the EVASWorldwide 300 Corporate Drive, Suite 2 booth at NBAA. Mahwah, NJ 07430 201-995-9571 www.evasworldwide.com 11