Originally Posted by svarin
The unfortunate fellows who had to face one of the most dangerous situation ever in a civilian airplane only needed a few cheap things, and not billion-bucks drones :
- a way to fly the aircraft with heavy smoke in the cockpit : EVAS
- quick, accurate and reliable information about the fire
It seems maintenance had received ACARS with info on the fire location, and I for one am convinced this info was not available to the pilots.
Absolutely correct, and if I may add:
- the best available cargo fire extinguishing system on the market, which might be the previsouly discussed FedEx developed system
If the aircraft automatics are able to detect a cargo fire, then there must also be a way to fight this fire as soon as possible, otherwise any detection system is as good as useless.
Any fire detected and not fighted but only the results of the fire like smoke being removed is a lost chance to survive this fire.