Cargo Airplane Fire At Low Alltitude

[wingtip777]

Hi , Everyone
As We Know We Deprressurise The Airplane To Extinguish The Fire On The Cargo Airplane. However If We Have A Fire At Low Altitude(eg.after To Or Just Before Landing), We Can't Deprressurise Then How Can We Extinguish The Fire Without Extinguish Bottles?!

Thanks!

[Willit Run]

IF the fire is on the main deck, and NOT in a container that has fire extinguishing, AND, you are truely at a low altitude close to the departure airport; you turn around and land ASAP! Don't get wrapped up in putting the fire out; get wrapped up in saving YOUR arse!
As in previous threads; you have about 17 minutes to get the plane on the ground. Use that time wisely!

[wingtip777]

thanks, where do you get the 17 munites from? (didn't find in previous threads)

[MarkerInbound]

There was a study of in-flight fires (can't remember if it's just cargo or cargo and cabin) and it found the average time from alarm to crash was about 18 minutes.

[wingtip777]

got it , thanks!

wondering why boeing didn't give any guides about this!

[MarkerInbound]

Boeing isn't very likely to come out and say if you have a main deck fire and you're not in the traffic pattern, you're screwed.

[CS-CCO]

Regarding fire and time, on my MCC, the instructor an experienced Airbus Cpt said a wing would only take 19 to 24 min under un-extinguished engine fire.

This went to show that even if the Departing airport wasn't a t-off alternate (due to weather) it would immediately become one in case one could not extinguish an engine fire.

[Willit Run]

an unextinguished engine fire inflight, worries me a LOT less than an inflight fire in the cabin or belly.

Odds are, pulling the engine fire handle will extinguish 98% of all enngine fires, unless the fire is a magnesium fire. (then you might be hosed).

Even the less modern freighters have belly extinguishing, but the main deck is the achilles heal.
I just got out of the sim and we did the fire drill with masks and goggles on, and tried to run the various checklists as best we could. That shed a lot of light on how difficult it is to communicate with ATC and your colleague in the other seat, and fly the plane and configure for an approach and program the FMC and work the MCP. I encourage all the cargo rats to try this drill in their next PT just for your own enlightenment. Human Beings are not very good at multi-tasking!

Carrying HAZMAT is not all that dangerous as long as you know about it. Its that undeclared stuff that worries me.

[moosp]

I think you need to be very careful if you think that de-pressurizing a cargo compartment is going to put a fire out. At best it may reduce the spread.

Read up the books on the early Everest climbs and you find they were cooking on meta fuel stoves above 25,000 feet, and a lot of what you carry is more combustible than metafuel.

The Class's E cargo holds were brought in many years ago with much lobbying from the aircraft manufacturers and airlines but I doubt they would contain a fire that had any oxidizers in it for more than a few minutes.

My 2c worth...