Loss of RMI - Cause of fire
I do not wish to add to any perceived criticism of any other poster, however I noted reference to a "plug being in the wrong place" on the Rootes Blower as being the cause of the fire. My reading of the event lead me to believe that the problem was identified as being deficient maintenance during overhaul of the blower. It was found, I understood, that a loss of oil caused by the loosening of retaining nuts due to them not being lock wired precipitated the problem.
Neither fire or overheat detection, as well as fire suppression, was available in the area. The report I read indicated that by the time the crew became aware of the fire it was of such magnitude that the top spar cap had already been weakened so much that the bottom spar cap would fail under overload, as it did.
Sadly, design is not always foolproof. This loss was similar to that of the Neptune which suffered a similar fate near Richmond in 1959 when an un-contained failure of a Power Recovery Turbine occurred.
Last edited by Old Fella; 10th Feb 2014 at 00:52.