Wirraway
24th Dec 2004, 04:36
AAP
Boeing reviews electricals in 717
December 24, 2004 - 3:29PM
Airline manufacturer Boeing has been forced to review electrical equipment near toilets on its 717 aircraft following a problem that forced a Jetstar plane into an emergency landing earlier this year.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), in its report into the July 26 incident onboard a Jetstar flight between Brisbane and Hamilton Island, said Boeing was reviewing the placement and design of internal plane phones and even the reliability of the taps in its toilets on Boeing 717s.
Boeing has been forced into the review after a plane carrying 56 people made an emergency landing at Mackay after smoke and fumes were noticed in the plane's passenger section.
Several people were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
The ATSB said early in the flight, cabin crew had noticed water spilling from a handbasin in one of the plane's toilets.
The leakage was cleaned up and the toilet locked to prevent its use.
About 60 nautical miles south of Mackay, a crew member noticed an electrical smell coming from the toilet, while a phone handpiece on the outside of the toilet was hot to touch.
The cabin manager shortly after told the pilot that it appeared part of the phone's handset wiring was melting.
The ATSB said an electrical circuit breaker in the toilet had popped, with the fault traced to a short circuit in a connect plug found under the toilet's handbasin.
Water from the handbasin had seeped into the plug, resulting in several pins in the plug welding together which in turn affected the phone.
Boeing is now reviewing the failure conditions that can affect toilet handbasin water shut-off mechanisms, and the design and assembly of the internal phones.
The incident also revealed another problem, with the flight crew reporting a landing gear down on emergency electrical power indicator was different to that in 717 flight simulators used by Jetstar.
Jetstar found the simulator was incorrectly set for the emergency electrical power condition, and that software changes were being made by the simulator's manufacturer.
© 2004 AAP
Brought to you by
=========================================
Boeing reviews electricals in 717
December 24, 2004 - 3:29PM
Airline manufacturer Boeing has been forced to review electrical equipment near toilets on its 717 aircraft following a problem that forced a Jetstar plane into an emergency landing earlier this year.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), in its report into the July 26 incident onboard a Jetstar flight between Brisbane and Hamilton Island, said Boeing was reviewing the placement and design of internal plane phones and even the reliability of the taps in its toilets on Boeing 717s.
Boeing has been forced into the review after a plane carrying 56 people made an emergency landing at Mackay after smoke and fumes were noticed in the plane's passenger section.
Several people were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
The ATSB said early in the flight, cabin crew had noticed water spilling from a handbasin in one of the plane's toilets.
The leakage was cleaned up and the toilet locked to prevent its use.
About 60 nautical miles south of Mackay, a crew member noticed an electrical smell coming from the toilet, while a phone handpiece on the outside of the toilet was hot to touch.
The cabin manager shortly after told the pilot that it appeared part of the phone's handset wiring was melting.
The ATSB said an electrical circuit breaker in the toilet had popped, with the fault traced to a short circuit in a connect plug found under the toilet's handbasin.
Water from the handbasin had seeped into the plug, resulting in several pins in the plug welding together which in turn affected the phone.
Boeing is now reviewing the failure conditions that can affect toilet handbasin water shut-off mechanisms, and the design and assembly of the internal phones.
The incident also revealed another problem, with the flight crew reporting a landing gear down on emergency electrical power indicator was different to that in 717 flight simulators used by Jetstar.
Jetstar found the simulator was incorrectly set for the emergency electrical power condition, and that software changes were being made by the simulator's manufacturer.
© 2004 AAP
Brought to you by
=========================================