Originally Posted by
dream747
Hi folks,
Looking to seek some opinions on the Smoke/Fumes/Avionics Smoke procedure.
Scenario 1: Smell in the cockpit and/or cabin with no physiological effects - No urgent action required, consider applying the Removal of Smoke/Fumes QRH procedure.
Scenario 2: Smell in the cockpit and/or cabin with physiological effects - Apply the said procedure, however, stop at LAND ASAP as there is no “perceptible smoke”. Apply the Removal of Smoke/Fumes QRH procedure.
Scenario 3: Perceptible smoke in the cockpit and/or cabin - Apply the Smoke/Fumes/Avionics Smoke procedure.
Is this approach to this procedure sound? Or does anyone have a better understanding towards this?
To keep it more simple, I've got two main scenarios in my mind:
- Perceptible smoke or fumes in which the source is immediately obvious and extinguishable, this is the easy one ...
- Perceptible smoke or fumes in which the source is
NOT immediately obvious and neither extinguishable, not so easy one ...
Last scenario always involves the application of QRH smoke/fumes/avionic smoke emergency procedure first.
Time is often critical in every emergency procedure; in this case
time is the crucial part as it is the only way you have to survive should you be unable to find and extinguish the source of smoke or fumes through troubleshooting. Remember, as Vilas said you may have as less as 15 minutes to land the aircraft.
The checklist is written in a very logical way timewise:
- Protect yourself and your enviroment to be able to fly and navigate toward the place you eventually elect to land ( memory items and checklist's immediate actions ).
- Start the diversion and descent to FL110 or MEA MORA if higher ( to be able to apply the smoke removal procedure if needed )
before starting the troubleshoot. This is the main threat and the common error is to start troubleshooting while we don't know where to go yet. This is the lesson we all have learnt from the unfortunate
Swissair flight 111.
- Once you've elected a place to fly and hopefully land within 15 minutes, you can start the checklist's troubleshoot.
Remember that smoke removal, electrical emergency configuration and - as a very last option - an immediate landing are always at your disposal should the situation becomes not manageable.