Hi,
I need to know the answer to this ASAP.
I am under the understanding that when Boeing have a gear bay fire, they are supposed to extend the gear to extinguish it.
Apparantly, there was an incident where extending the gear did not extinguish the fire?
Is this true, and if so, do any of you guys have the details of the incident?
Thanks a million!
Very tough question in its wording. Perhaps we could make better sense out of our answers if you would parse your statements into sentences ending with question marks. I tried reading this several times and really didn't wish to go into a wide ranging discussion unless/until I understood what you are trying to ask.
On the surface your opening is a statement about Boeing procedures. Sounds like a standard procedure to me and no questions asked.
Then you move into a vague rumor about an incident where the Boeing procedure may not have had an effect and ask for the details.
Without knowing the specific incident I don't see how one can be specific about details.
So without stating details an answer could only be general.
Most causes of wheel well fire detection are hot brakes. Some of these if not attended to can result in the tire rupturing and damaging the wheel well resulting in flamable fluid release (hydraulic fluid or in some Boeing aircraft APU associated fuel). If a flamable fluid gets involved then the fire can progress into duct work etc (as it did in the Mexicana crash). Once in the ductwork progression moved all the way to the tail resulting in the tail separating in-flight.. The planes FDR revealed that previous flights had extended takeoff runs indicative of dragging brakes.)
So one answer to a possible question is what does extending the gear have to do with this? The answer is that it is a second line of defense in that it cools down an abnormaly hot brake before it causes a tire burst while stored in the wheel well. (the first line of defense is to not continue a takeoff roll out of spec)
If your questions are meant to go beyond my simplification then please clarify.