What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Narrative: the captain states in his report that ten minutes into the flight the first officer noticed a burning smell coming from the cabin. The captain and the first officer looked back and did not notice anything unusual. Approximately one minute later, a passenger tapped the captain on the shoulder and pointed up at the cabin lighting above seat 2A. There was smoke and a small flame coming from the area above seat 2A. The procedures in the quick reference handbook were immediately followed. The captain performed a visual inspection of the overhead above seat 2A. There were no flames or smoke anymore. The area was not hot or warm to the touch. An emergency was declared and the flight returned to iad. The aircraft landed uneventfully and the passengers were deplaned safely and unharmed. On-sight inspection of the aircraft revealed that one of the lamp connectors on the fluorescent lamp above seat 2A had apparently failed. The headliner material above the connector showed evidence of a fire. Further inspection revealed that the aircraft was not in compliance with airworthiness directive 95-22-01. It was determined by the color of the connector (I.e. black) that it WA s manufactured by s.e.l.a. laboratories avadie (sela). The lighting system installed on the aircraft was manufactured by aerospace lighting corporation (alc). An inspection of the remaining lamp connectors on the aircraft revealed that both sela and alc connectors were being stored in the same box. This appears to be the result of similar part numbers for the connector (I.e., sela p/n 3185-1A and alc p/n 31.85.1,a). Additionally, the aircraft manufacturer's maintenance manual and wiring manual may have contributed to the cause of the incident by not specifying the incompatibility of components of the two different manufactured systems installed on their aircraft.
As the FAA filed it
NARRATIVE: THE CAPTAIN STATES IN HIS REPORT THAT TEN MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT THE FIRST OFFICER NOTICED A BURNING SMELL COMING FROM THE CABIN. THE CAPTAIN AND THE FIRST OFFICER LOOKED BACK AND DID NOT NOTICE ANYTHING UNUSUAL. APPROXIMATELY ONE MINUTE LATER, A PASSENGER TAPPED THE CAPTAIN ON THE SHOULDER AND POINTED UP AT THE CABIN LIGHTING ABOVE SEAT 2A. THERE WAS SMOKE AND A SMALL FLAME COMING FROM THE AREA ABOVE SEAT 2A. THE PROCEDURES IN THE QUICK REFERENCE HANDBOOK WERE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED. THE CAPTAIN PERFORMED A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE OVERHEAD ABOVE SEAT 2A. THERE WERE NO FLAMES OR SMOKE ANYMORE. THE AREA WAS NOT HOT OR WARM TO THE TOUCH. AN EMERGENCY WAS DECLARED AND THE FLIGHT RETURNED TO IAD. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED UNEVENTFULLY AND THE PASSENGERS WERE DEPLANED SAFELY AND UNHARMED. ON-SIGHT INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT ONE OF THE LAMP CONNECTORS ON THE FLUORESCENT LAMP ABOVE SEAT 2A HAD APPARENTLY FAILED. THE HEADLINER MATERIAL ABOVE THE CONNECTOR SHOWED EVIDENCE OF A FIRE. FURTHER INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE 95-22-01. IT WAS DETERMINED BY THE COLOR OF THE CONNECTOR (I.E. BLACK) THAT IT WA S MANUFACTURED BY S.E.L.A. LABORATORIES AVADIE (SELA). THE LIGHTING SYSTEM INSTALLED ON THE AIRCRAFT WAS MANUFACTURED BY AEROSPACE LIGHTING CORPORATION (ALC). AN INSPECTION OF THE REMAINING LAMP CONNECTORS ON THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT BOTH SELA AND ALC CONNECTORS WERE BEING STORED IN THE SAME BOX. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE RESULT OF SIMILAR PART NUMBERS FOR THE CONNECTOR (I.E., SELA P/N 3185-1A AND ALC P/N 31.85.1,A). ADDITIONALLY, THE AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURER'S MAINTENANCE MANUAL AND WIRING MANUAL MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT BY NOT SPECIFYING THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF COMPONENTS OF THE TWO DIFFERENT MANUFACTURED SYSTEMS INSTALLED ON THEIR AIRCRAFT.
Other reports on N471UE · 4
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.