Smoke in Cabin

[Unknown001]

Hello I have a question which I would like to ask...

I was on an A330 over Australia last week when smoke filled the cabin - so you could see it suspended in the air. The cabin crew ran down the cabin turning off the air vents.

The captain was on the PA and said there was some fault or other that was rectified and we continued on to our destination.

How common of an occurrence is this?

[Jack Ranga]

Happens all the time, it's only smoke. Bit like a barbie, just move out of the smoke :ok:

[Capn Bloggs]

The cabin crew ran down the cabin turning off the air vents.
How crazy is that?! The pax would run out of oxygen!! :eek:

[superq7]

Unknown. Perhaps you were confused somewhat and you were actually flying on a 787, that sounds much more likely.

[JAKL]

Probably caused by someone in the toilet. Rollin' one up, instead of rollin' one out!

Hat n coat?

[framer]

How common of an occurrence is this?
I don't know but I can tell you it has never happened on any flight I've been on which is probably about ten thousand hours of flying time.
I would be interested to hear from other pilots how many times it has occurred on their flights and how many hours that is covering.

[t_cas]

One in 11000 odd hours for me..... So, touch wood, "should" not see it again in my career. 😬 Not pleasant.

[ConcernedLAME]

I suspect what you saw was "fog"......The A330 A/C system is very efficient and can produce a fog which looks like smoke in the cabin from the a/c outlets...

If you are fortunate to be at the point end at take off roll you can hear the ice sliding through the ducting as the nose rotates.

[Unknown001]

It was definitely smoke and was accompanied by an acrid burning smell.

I wonder if it will make the atsb reports?

[Dangly Bits]

Bloggs that is crazy talk! They would run out if air well before they would run out of oxygen:}

[Wally Mk2]

Gee you guys have gotta go back to school there. Oxygen is stored in bottles, you know SEP stuff & Air is all around us in the atmosphere:E:E:ok:

I wonder why the cabin crew would go 'running' down the isle/s if it where just condensation?
Perhaps the skipper was an ex 4 engined 'tank' driver (146)where those engines seemed to produce smoke inside as well as outside of the airframe so he got nervous:E

Wmk2

[Capn Rex Havoc]

Did the hostess run around with sick bags to collect the air samples for diagnosis in the flight deck? :)

[Angle of Attack]

To answer your question it happens 1 or 2 times a day throughout the world, the vast majority being isolated and the aircraft continues to destination, just as it sounds like yours was. Extremely unlikely to be fog in flight because the cabin air is far too dry, on the ground maybe, maybe a recirculation fan shat itself, that would be a pretty common cause of smoke and why the vents would have been turned off...

[T28D]

Known fact once the smoke is out of any electrical component you can't put it back in , ergo it is stuffed.

its the smoke that kills them, components that is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[owen meaney]

T28D, that would be the "Lucas" theory of electrikery.
Smoke travels in wires etc.

Cheers

[SIUYA]

Smoke travels in wires etc.

There are some excellent resources on the internet that provide more information on this, and about the Lucas Replacement Wiring Harness Smoke Service Part.

See: Lucas - Prince of Darkness - Lucas Electrical Humor Jokes (http://www.mez.co.uk/lucas.html)

[ernestkgann]

It sounds as if the reporter knows what they are talking about and is asking a rhetorical question to expose the incident. Surprisingly some large companies may not have the best reporting culture.

If it was smoke then it should be reported and possibly to the ATSB via the companies safety department. Which company Unknown?

[FMU]

Unkown001- I'm aware of the "smoke event" on your flight. It was caused by a failure of the RH cabin air recirculation fan which caused some smoke and the electrical burning smell. The flt crew were advised by the cabin crew of the smell and the cabin fans were selected OFF. The failed fan was subsequently replaced.
This type of event is NOT common. In this case it was managed effectively by the crew.