View Full Version : Smoke in the cockpit/cabin
Hello;
As an ARFF Fire Officer, I am interested in knowing if you experience frequently inflight emergencies where smoke (or smell) is present ? Do you dismiss the problem (by resetting breakers early on) or do you conduct a more thorough investigation ? What kind of investigation techniques are you using ?
Thank you.
Frequent...no.
Having said this, if any evidence of smoke/fumes are present, full drills are on, with a possible landing enroute a distinct possibility.
Too many folks have had problems in the past to say otherwise, IMO.
Better alive than dead, any day of the week.
Personally, only three times have smoke/fumes been a problem.
Twice in a B707, once in a TriStar.
On all three, lost sight of the First Officer (with his mask/goggles on...pronto) within ten seconds.
The Flight Engineer knew precisely what to do...and hats off to him, absolutely.
Rananim
15th Dec 2003, 07:03
Infrequent thankfully.Of all the nightmare scenarios,this one takes the biscuit and requires immediate landing(if possible).As 411a rightly says,it helps if you have a a good F/E.
Indepth response to smoke whilst airborne should only be attempted if you have no way of getting down asap.Primarily,it consists of donning O2 masks/goggles,establishing communications,and setting up for an approach and landing at the nearest suitable airport.This is esp true for a 2 man flightdeck.On a 3 man flightdeck,the checklists are more in-depth and allow for more detailed trouble-shooting.If you dont have the Immediate land option on a 2 man flightdeck,then its down to improvisation based on airmanship and systems knowledge.This would include depowering and/or isolation of busses or electrical items that are classed as usual suspects,eg,recirculation fans,equip cooling fans,galley power(first to go).Pilots should know ALL items in the electrical smoke&fire and smoke removal checklist and how to isolate certain electrical busses.From memory.Cb's can be reset after 2 min cooling period,but some would wisely ignore this option.
Delays due to fuel-dumping or establishing radio contact with company should be avoided at all cost.Land overweight and call company on your mobile after landing.