Discharging Fire bottles

[LimpopoHippo]

What is the maintenance action required after a fire bottle is discharged on ATR aircraft with:

1. Engine not running
2. Engine cowls open

Thnx

[Piper19]

I don't know on the ATR, but we once had a Rolls Royce RB211 on which the fire bottles were accidentally fired in maintenance.
Since the engine was not running, there was no damage to the engine itself. We just replaced the empty fire bottle, put new cartridges and cleaned the engine/cowling.

[quazz]

Just skimmed the manuals and as usual there is no useful info.

A quick question, who pulled the fire handle and why as this is sounding like an accidental thing?

[The Flying Cokeman]

Haven't flown ATR for a while now but sounds like a good wash and a new bottle and cartridge to be installed and off u go.
If it's just the fire handle pulled, u can push the handle back in and fly straight away.

[Max Angle]

As far as I know halon (which we still have an exemption to use aircraft) is a clear gas and should have no effect on the parts of the engine it contacts. It won't have gone down the core (that bit is supposed to be on fire anyway) but is discharged into the spaces within the cowling where the ancillary drives, pumps and piping etc. are housed. The halon will not damage the aircraft but will rise to the upper atmosphere were it will help to further damage the ozone layer.

[mono]

Originally Posted by Max Angle

The halon will not damage the aircraft but will rise to the upper atmosphere were it will help to further damage the ozone layer.

Actually Halon is heavier than air. One of the reasons it is a good extinguishant as it falls to the source of the fire. The recovery action for reviving a person who has passed out due to hallon inhalation is to invert them. The hallon literally falls out of the lungs - conventional CPR can then be carried out.

However it does get up there eventually and is a known ozone depletor

[nugpot]

Originally Posted by Max Angle

As far as I know halon (which we still have an exemption to use aircraft) is a clear gas

It is actually a clear liquid when it leaves the extinguisher. It evaporates quickly and then is heavier than air.

[aeroconejo]

Halon 1211 (or sometimes 1301) is a vapourising liquid. It has a 'de greasing' effect and removes a lot of essential lubricants on components located close to a discharge which therefore requires a major inspection.
aero

[Anotherflapoperator]

...having seen what Halon does to a fire compared to CO2 and the like, I'm more than glad we can still have access to it, and for the odd occasion it is needed, the benefits far outweigh the environmental pain.

If only I could still have a bottle at home and in the car like I used to....

[aeroconejo]

I have one at home

aero