Cargolux MIA-AMS diversion to SNN and evacuation

[Mariner]

https://aviationsourcenews.com/emergency/cargolux-b747-miami-amsterdam-declares-emergency/

Hope all are well, must have been a scary situation


Fire or Fire warning?

Initially descended to FL250 and stayed there for a while before descending in SNN. That's a FIRE MAIN DECK Procedure.

[Mariner]

Thanks Trim, corrected.

More of the story:

ResponseShannon Airport’s Fire and Rescue Service was alerted and crews deployed to holding points adjacent to the runway ahead of the aircraft’s arrival.

Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Shannon and Ennis stations were mobilised, along with National Ambulance Service paramedics and gardaí.

The crew advised controllers shortly before landing that they believed the fire alarm was a false activation but said they would evacuate the aircraft on the runway as a precaution.

The flight landed safely at 6.51am and came to a stop on the runway, where the three-person crew evacuated the aircraft using an emergency slide.

Operations were brought to a standstill at the airport while the runway was blocked by the aircraft.

Airport fire crews used thermal imaging cameras to scan the jet’s fuselage externally for any hotspots, however, no indication of a fire was found.

After the crew had evacuated, firefighters wearing breathing apparatus boarded the aircraft to carry out a more detailed inspection, finding no evidence of a fire.


Flowers have caused many false fire warnings, and more than a few diversions. Some freight carriers use a supplementary procedure entailing a 20mins purging procedure with doors closed before departure.

[procede]

I would think flowers are usually transported from AMS to MIA, so the other way?

I do not see any logic to evacuating using a slide on the runway unless you absolutely have to, as you are risking an injury. Especially from the top deck of a 747.

[Mariner]

Amsterdam (actually the auction at nearby Aalsmeer) is where most of the worlds flowers are traded.
The flowers on board the CLX flight probably originated in Colombia or Equador, while the aircraft was routed to AMS via Miami.

[BoeingDriver99]

On a freighter, over the middle of the sea, hours from anywhere - is there a procedure to suffocate the fire by depressurising at a sufficiently high altitude and starving the fire of O2?

[John Boeman]

On a freighter, over the middle of the sea, hours from anywhere - is there a procedure to suffocate the fire by depressurising at a sufficiently high altitude and starving the fire of O2?

There is and it begins with descending to FL250 which is what they did.

[tdracer]

There is and it begins with descending to FL250 which is what they did.
Descend to 25k, all crew on O2, depressurize the aircraft (one pack operating sending warm air to the upper deck).

Bad news is that won't work with a Li battery fire (or any other cargo fire where the cargo provides the oxidizer to feed the fire such as O2 generators).
Then again most fire extinguishers/retardants don't work for that type fire.

[BoeingDriver99]

That’s super interesting, thanks for the information. Never done cargo but often thought about the scenario with pax over the pacific and what you could do in a worst, worst case scenario to suffocate the fire (& obviously some pax too) to save the airframe.

[Commander Taco]

I recently met a UPS skipper and we got talking about the fire/smoke mitigation equipment fitted to cargo aircraft. He described the “inflatable vision protection system” that cargo aircraft are now equipped with in the wake of several hull losses due to LI battery fires. He didn’t seem terribly confident as to the likely efficacy of this device. Judge for yourselves.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1252x1007/img_6681_6e068159e6b183f59a4f75e1e7d8530382ba2750.jpeg

[KRviator]

Better than nothing I guess - but that assumes the airframe will remain intact and controllable long enough to have a decent shot at landing. Will only be a matter of time before it'll be able to be tested in anger.

[70 Mustang]

Could be useful in the dreaded “The FO had a dodgy curry last night” emergency situation!

[RandomPerson8008]

I did that one time many years ago, same route, probably same type of cargo, and very similar airplane. We didn't evac on the runway after the divert though. It was apparent when we were still flying fine, depressurized and on O2 at FL250 with no fumes or smoke after 30 minutes, that it was probably a false fire warning. This was especially apparent after we sent supernumeraries to the main deck with portable O2 who reported no heat or smoke of any kind. Even so, we deemed it best to follow through with the diversion since the FIRE MAIN DECK master warning was displayed continuously. Of course we were maligned by a few for failing to continue to planned destination, but we eventually did, after a pub visit and rest time in SNN. If they had the warning go off at the same spot we did, right at 30W, they probably wanted out of the airplane to change their undergarments, much like us.

[rudestuff]

I recently met a UPS skipper and we got talking about the fire/smoke mitigation equipment fitted to cargo aircraft. He described the “inflatable vision protection system” that cargo aircraft are now equipped with in the wake of several hull losses due to LI battery fires. He didn’t seem terribly confident as to the likely efficacy of this device. Judge for yourselves.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1252x1007/img_6681_6e068159e6b183f59a4f75e1e7d8530382ba2750.jpeg
EVAS is actually a pretty ingenious low tech solution to a lethal problem. It's a glorified transparent beach ball which allows you to displace smoke and read instruments, ideally just enough to maintain SA and set up for an autoland.

[stilton]

EVAS is actually a pretty ingenious low tech solution to a lethal problem. It's a glorified transparent beach ball which allows you to displace smoke and read instruments, ideally just enough to maintain SA and set up for an autoland.


I just read about an even more promising technology, an integrated oxygen mask and goggles with a built in HUD linked to a virtual reality database accurate enough for landing

So all necessary instrumentation and references would be provided for landing, called the ‘SAVED’ system

[747-8driver]

Maybe they saw high main deck temperatures on the ECS page during the diversion?