US safety agency urges speedy 777 cargo hold fix

[rotornut]

Reuters
US safety agency urges speedy 777 cargo hold fix
Monday August 30, 6:14 pm ET

WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - U.S. safety investigators on Monday urged quick replacement of light bulbs in the cargo holds of Boeing Co. 777 aircraft after an Emirates Airlines flight experienced a fire warning last year.
The heat of a halogen light bulb was found to have ignited a bag when the Sept. 28 flight from Dubai to Singapore diverted to Chennai, India, after discharging a fire extinguishing agent into the cargo hold of the wide-bodied twin jet.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the Federal Aviation Administration planned within six to 12 months to make mandatory a Boeing service bulletin advising operators of the 777 to use cooler incandescent bulbs in the cargo hold.

"The Safety Board agrees with Boeing's and the FAA's planned actions but is concerned that during the time needed for the FAA to issue an (airworthiness directive), a fire risk exists in 777 cargo compartments that warrants more urgent action," the NTSB wrote in a letter to the FAA.

The safety board said the incandescent bulbs could be placed in the existing light fixtures and the work should be done on an "expedited schedule."

It further urged that 777 operators avoid placing material near the cargo compartment ceiling until the halogen bulbs are replaced.

[matkat]

If the FAA thought that this was a major issue they could easily make an AD applicable sooner,i.e. "before further flight"failing that they could also issue an AD to be complied with at any interval they see fit.

[CR2]

How about switching the lights off??? :confused:

[Tinstaafl]

Considering that torches, vehicles & even traffic lights are now using LEDs, I wonder why they don't use them? Long lasting, light, cool & very low power consumption. I'd have thought them ideal.

Next option, what about the low wattage mini-flourescent lights used as low power incandescent replacements?

[Old Smokey]

Presumably it is beyond the capabilities of Boeing's design bureau to incorporate a mechanical ON/OFF switch actuated by the door position.

My refrigerator has one, but then I guess they'd find it pretty hard to justify the US$50,000 price tag.

[MkVIII]

Is there not a circuit breaker one could pop? :p

Just kidding fellas. We all know you only pop circuit breakers when you want to deploy leading edge devices at high mach speeds...(ducking for cover!)

[lomapaseo]

How do you really know that your fridge light is really off?

Do you really trust that door switch?

Have you ever thought about packing your body in there to see what really goes on, just to remove all doubt?

Do you think that planes would benefit from having a special peep hole into the cargo compartment to confirm that the light is really off?

off to the doctor now to have a growth removed from my cheek.

[Look_Up]

lomapaseo, you may jest, but to track down an intermittent fault with the switch to the boot lamp in our car some years ago some poor sod from the garage handling the repair "volunteered" to be shut in the boot while the car was driven over bumps and around corners!

We eventually found that an intermittent problem was bringing the lamp back on some time after the boot had been closed and was draining the car's battery.

[Cejkovice]

Old Smokey.......You really got a US$50,000 fridge?? :ok:

[Old Smokey]

Cejkovice , Hell no! - That's the price Boeing would charge after connecting it to the ELMS, Flap switch, Groundspeed sensor, FMC, GPS/IRS, and $73,572,347.42 worth of flight testing to gain ETOPS approval.

Gotta sign off, I'm freezing my bollocks off here in the fridge waiting to see if the light comes back on.