Appendix B B-1 APPENDIX B. NTSB ACCIDENT REVIEWS B.1 This AC was originally issued in part based on the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) review of commercial aviation accidents involving in-flight fires. The scope of the review was limited to transport category airplanes operated by U.S. and foreign operators during the period 1983 to 2021. What follows is a brief synopsis of the events the NTSB reviewed as well as more recent in-flight fire events.
B.1.1 On June 2, 1983, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operated by Air Canada as flight 797 experienced an in-flight fire and made an emergency landing at Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport, Covington, KY. A passenger noticing a strange smell and an F/A seeing smoke in one of the lavatories initially detected the fire. Another F/A saw that the smoke was coming from the seams between the walls and ceiling in the lavatory.
During the descent, the smoke increased and moved forward in the cabin. After the airplane landed, F/As initiated an emergency evacuation. Of the 41 passengers and 5 crewmembers on board, 23 passengers were unable to evacuate and died in the fire. The airplane was destroyed.
B.1.2 On September 17, 1999, a McDonnell Douglas MD-88 operated by Delta Air Lines as flight 2030 experienced an in-flight fire and made an emergency landing at Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport, Covington, KY. The airplane sustained minor damage. There were no injuries to the 2 flightcrew members, 3 F/As, 3 off-duty F/As, and 113 passengers during the evacuation.
B.1.3 On August 8, 2000, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 operated by AirTran Airways as flight 913 experienced an in-flight fire and made an emergency landing at Greensboro Piedmont Triad International Airport, Greensboro, NC. The effects of fire, heat, and smoke substantially damaged the airplane. Of the 58 passengers and 5 crewmembers on board, 3 crewmembers and 5 passengers received minor injuries from smoke inhalation, and 5 other passengers and 1 ground crewmember received minor injuries during the evacuation.
B.1.4 On November 29, 2000, lightning struck a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 operated by American Airlines as flight 1683, which experienced an in-flight fire that began shortly after takeoff from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, DC. The flightcrew made an emergency landing at Washington Dulles International Airport and ordered an evacuation. The airplane sustained minor damage. There were no injuries to the 2 pilots, 3 F/As, and 61 passengers during the evacuation.
B.1.5 On December 18, 2020, a spare lithium battery overheated and expanded while in-flight.
The F/A responded quickly to this sign of potential thermal runaway (TR) and put the battery into a containment bag.
B.1.6 On January 27, 2021, a thermal event ensued when a pair of earbuds were being charged by a passenger in-flight. The earbuds were placed in an in-flight containment bag until the smoke subsided and the flight landed.
Appendix B B-2 B.1.7 On March 3, 2021, a passenger’s cell phone battery began to burn while in flight over the Gulf of America. Airline personnel extinguished the fire and secured the phone in a thermal containment bag.
B.1.8 On March 17, 2021, a passenger’s vaping device began to overheat in his pocket while in the lavatory. F/As placed the device in a containment bag. Fire rescue met the aircrew upon landing and disposed of the device.
B.2 Brief incident summaries of events with smoke, fire, extreme heat, or explosion involving lithium batteries can be found at https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/resources/lithium_batteries/ media/Battery_incident_chart.pdf.
Appendix C C-1 APPENDIX C. TYPICAL WIDE BODY CROSS-SECTION Although the following diagram represents a typical wide body aircraft, many narrow body aircraft have the same general layout and ventilation airflow. Other than the cabin height and width, the main difference between wide body and narrow body aircraft is the volume of free space in the overhead area. This free space can range from a few feet to more than 4 feet in wide body aircraft and to as little as a few inches in small regional jets. Crewmembers should understand the volume of overhead space in a particular aircraft to effectively combat hidden fires in this area.
Appendix D D-1 APPENDIX D. TIME TO BECOMING NONSURVIVABLE10 10 CAA Paper 2002/01, (FAA Reference DOT/FAA/AR-02/5 0), “A Benefit Analysis for Enhanced Protection From Fires in Hidden Areas on Transport Aircraft,” p. 6.
Th e following chart depicts the time that various crews had from the first indication of the presence of a hidden fire to the time that fire became catastrophically uncontrollable. For aircraft with hidden fires, an approximate assessment is that only one-third will reach an airfield before the fire becomes uncontrollable.11 11 CAA Paper 2002/01, p. 20.
DATE LOCATI
ON AIRCRAFT TYPE
TIME TO BECOME
NONSURVIVABLE (MINUTES) 07-26-1969 Biskra, Algeria Caravelle 26 07-11-1973 Paris, France B707 7 11-03-1973 Boston, USA B707 35 11-26-1979 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia B707 17 06-02-1983 Cincinnati, USA DC-9 19 11-28-1987 Mauritius, Indian Ocean B747 19 09-02-1998 Nova Scotia, Canada MD-11 16
Appendix E E-1 APPENDIX E. INFORMATION ON USING HAND FIRE EXTINGUISHERS The following information has been extracted from AC 20-42, Hand Fire Extinguishers for Use in Aircraft, and presented here for your review and ease of reference. The information presented below is current as of the date of this AC. To ensure you have current information relating to hand fire extinguishers for use in the aircraft, refer to the current edition of AC 20-42.
E.1 Types of Fires. To select an appropriate extinguisher for use in an aircraft, consider the following classes of fires (as defined in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 10, Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers) tha t are likely to occur:
E.1.1 Class A. Fires in ordinary combustible materials, such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber, and plastics, for which the quenching and cooling effects of quantities of water or aqueous-based extinguishing agents containing a large percentage of water are of prime importance.
E.1.2 Class B. F ires in flammable liquids, oils, greases, tars, oil-based paints, lacquers, and flammable gases for which extinguishing agents having a blanket effect are essential.
E.1.3 Class C. F ires involving energized electrical equipment and where the electrical nonconductivity of the extinguishing agent is important.
E.1.4 Class D. Fi res involving combustible metals, such as magnesium, titanium, zirconium, sodium, lithium, and potassium, could continue to burn unless dry powder extinguishing agents are used. You should follow the recommendations of the manufacturer for use of those extinguishers to avoid a possible chemical reaction between the burning metal and the extinguishing agent.
E.2 Extinguishing Agents Appropriate for Types of Fires. The following extinguishing agents are recommended, as appropriate, for use on the types of fires specified below and as defined in AC 20-42, Chapter 3, Selecting the Correct Hand Fire Extinguisher:
• Carbon dioxide (CO2): Class B or C.
• Water/aqueous-based extinguishing agent: Class A.
• Dry chemicals: Class A, B, or C.
• Halogenated hydrocarbons (halon): Class A, B, or C.
• Specialized dry powder: Class D.
Note: Only “all-purpose” or Class A, B, or C dry chemical powder extinguishers containing monoammonium phosphate have a UL Class A, B, or C rating; all other powders have a Class B or C rating only.
E.3 Numeral Ratings. Extinguishers labeled for Class A and B fires use numerals with the identifying letters. The numeral indicates the relative extinguishing effectiveness of the device on a given size fire, which is dependent on the agent, the capacity of the device, discharge times, and design features. For example, an extinguisher rated as 4A should
Appendix E E-2 extinguish about twice as much Class A fire as a 2A-rated extinguisher. A 2½-gallon water extinguisher is rated 2A. On an extinguisher rated for Class B fires, the numeral rating precedes the letter “B.” Extinguishers labeled for Class C or D fires do not use numeral ratings. Extinguishers that are effective on more than one class of fires have multiple numeral-letter and letter classifications and ratings (e.g., 5B:C).
E.4 Helpful Hints in Extinguishing Fires.
E.4.1 Generally, you can obtain the best results in firefighting by attacking the base of the fire at the near edge of the fire and progressing toward the back of the fire by moving the fire extinguisher nozzle rapidly in a side-to-side, sweeping motion.
E.4.2 The effective discharge time of most handheld fire extinguishers ranges from 8 to 25 seconds depending on the capacity and type of extinguisher. Because of this relatively short effective timespan, the crewmember should select and use the proper fire extinguisher without delay.
E.4.3 Care should be taken not to direct the initial discharge at the burning surface at close range (less than 5 to 8 feet) because the high-velocity stream may cause splashing and/or scattering of the burning material.
E.4.4 Ventilate the compartment promptly after successfully extinguishing the fire to reduce gaseous combustion and gases produced by thermal decomposition.
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