not without some secondary confirmation
I wouldn't ditch, or land off-airport, with a cargo fire/smoke warning unless I had some kind of secondary confirmation it was the real deal. I've had too many false cargo smoke warnings for that.
The airplane I fly has temperature indication of the cargo compartments on the EICAS. That would be the obvious thing to check. Those temps may disappear when switching of the ventilation as per QRH response to the fire/smoke warning, so you'd have to check that right away.
Any accompanying system abnormalities would be dead giveaways.
And else, check for real smoke or smell. On the main deck that would be simple, have someone take a quick peak, while taking precautions.
That wouldn't work for the lower belly.
As the captain, you're the man in charge. So get all the info and make the decision. Not an easy one.
Last edited by Mariner; 27th Jan 2014 at 11:15.