Skill/lucky escape
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I was flying as a co pilot on a citation from biggin hill to the Balearic isles. We departed at night and climbing through FL240 over the channel the cockpit started filling with dense acrid smoke. We asked for an immediate return to biggin hill and were given a direct with a clear descent. The pax were terrified and on landing the whole aircraft and our clothing stank.
The fire was caused by a fan motor on the air ducting system.With any smoke situation if you carry oxygen put the masks on. Try and identify if the fire is electrical and shut down all that you can landing as quickly as possible. Do inform Atc as they will point you in the right direction and clear airspace on route. Unless you have experienced it you can not possibly imagine how acrid and choking this smoke can be as well as terrifying for the PAX who will think that they are about to die so keep calm yourself.
Pace
The fire was caused by a fan motor on the air ducting system.With any smoke situation if you carry oxygen put the masks on. Try and identify if the fire is electrical and shut down all that you can landing as quickly as possible. Do inform Atc as they will point you in the right direction and clear airspace on route. Unless you have experienced it you can not possibly imagine how acrid and choking this smoke can be as well as terrifying for the PAX who will think that they are about to die so keep calm yourself.
Pace
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Does sound like there might be a case for not allowing a laptop in the aircraft. Maybe I'll add that to my passenger briefing list.
Airlines normally allow in flight use of laptops, and they allow them to be connected to the power points provided in business class etc. I would guess they have done some studies on the risk.
I've never seen a consumer item battery go off but Sony got a name for it some years ago, with a duff batch of batteries.
Personally I don't use a laptop in the air (no use for one) but do fly with a tablet computer which has a lithium battery. Apparently, it is not a LIPO type.
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Obviously the pilot kept his wits about him and done what all of us would hope to able to achieve if ever placed in a similar situation. Just to go back to the idea of needing to jettison an item in flight. I suppose altitude one has is certainly a critical factor when deciding to place the AC in a near stall configuration to allow something to be chucked. I have thought about this before in the past as to what I would do if I needed something thrown out. I suppose from flying C152s and PA28s not really above 5/6000 I've always considered I reduce from cruise speed and enter a slideslip, chucking the item out in the direction away from the AC. I'd always be worried about slicing off the tailplane!
Also, as a sidenote, where would one stand legally if one jettisoned an object, say smoking laptop for example, which absolutely put the aircraft and POBs in imminent danger, but on its return to earth struck some poor individual on the head possibly killing them? Far fetched I know but such is my luck sometimes!
Also, as a sidenote, where would one stand legally if one jettisoned an object, say smoking laptop for example, which absolutely put the aircraft and POBs in imminent danger, but on its return to earth struck some poor individual on the head possibly killing them? Far fetched I know but such is my luck sometimes!
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On a PA28 the fuel primer can leak fuel into the cockpit.
But these things will need an ignition source. I am pretty sure that if you had a fuel leak into the cockpit, big enough to create a vapour pressure in the right range for ignition, the cockpit be full of fuel and the resulting fire would be massive and totally explosive.
An oil leak is something else but it would be hard to ignite the stuff unless you dropped a fag straight into a puddle of oil.
My money in this case is on a battery going off, or ignition (of paper or the seat material) by a fag.
Or a straight electrical fire, but normally they can be stopped by pulling the main power CB.
where would one stand legally if one jettisoned an object, say smoking laptop for example, which absolutely put the aircraft and POBs in imminent danger, but on its return to earth struck some poor individual on the head possibly killing them? Far fetched I know but such is my luck sometimes!
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Firstly, I would congratulate the pilot for getting that aircraft down safely - in arguably the worst situation a pilot may find themselves - absolutely full marks. 
Looking at the picture of the scene I question whether the fire was in fact inside. The fuel pump and a drain valve is on the lower port side of the engine compartment. I had an incident once when, after an emergency landing, fuel was found to be pouring from an ill-fitting detachable fuel bowl sited beneath the fuel pump.
I wonder whether the prop wash/air flow would cause a fire emanating from a similar event as mine to curl up and over the fuselage as it appears to have done in this case. The ignition source in this scenario would of course be the exhaust.
Just a thought.
For once, a very considered newspaper report.
wr
Looking at the picture of the scene I question whether the fire was in fact inside. The fuel pump and a drain valve is on the lower port side of the engine compartment. I had an incident once when, after an emergency landing, fuel was found to be pouring from an ill-fitting detachable fuel bowl sited beneath the fuel pump.
I wonder whether the prop wash/air flow would cause a fire emanating from a similar event as mine to curl up and over the fuselage as it appears to have done in this case. The ignition source in this scenario would of course be the exhaust.
Just a thought.
For once, a very considered newspaper report.
wr
