# Incident 19980515014099I: Boeing 747123, Honolulu, HI, May 15, 1998

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 15, 1998, 11:00 local time
- Place: Honolulu, HI
- Airport: Honolulu International Airport
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: UA2A
- Location: 21.3069° N, 157.8583° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Honolulu, HI, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=21.3069&lon=-157.8583&mi=10
- Aircraft: N157UA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N157UA-2000-01-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Boeing 747-123 (registry code 1384873, https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-747-123) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 747123
- People aboard: 415
- Fatal injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980515014099I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: UNITED FLIGHT 827 DEPARTED HONOLULU, HI (HNL) FOR NARITA, JAPAN ON 5/15/98. CAPTAIN GIPSON WAS RECEIVING INITIAL OPERATING EXPERIENCE (IOE) UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF CHECK AIRMAN BULGER. ONE HOUR AND FIFTY ONE MINUTES OUT OF HNL THE CREW NOTICED SMOKE IN THE VICINITY OF THE OVERHEAD CIRCUIT BREAKER PANEL (P7), FOLLOWED SHORTLY BY SPARKS AND FLAMES EMANATING FROM CIRCUIT BREAKER C787. THIS 10 AMP BREAKER SUPPLIES 115 VAC TO THE NO. 2 INS SYSTEM. CHECK AIRMAN BULGER WAS THE PILOT FLYING (PF) AT THE TIME. CAPTAIN GIPSON DONNED HIS 02 MASK AND TOOK THE CONTROLS. BEFORE THE OTHER PILOT COULD DON HIS MASK, THE FLIGHT ENGINEER HAD THE FIRE OUT. THE FAILED CIRCUIT BREAKER HAD, EVIDENTLY, SHORTED 115 VAC TO THE P7 PANEL, CAUSING C944, A 20 AMP BREAKER IN THE PHASE "B" LINE TO OPEN. WHEN THE VOLTAGE WAS REMOVED, THERE WAS RESIDUAL FIRE FROM OVERHEATED PAINT AND THE LUCITE ILLUMINATION STRIP ON THE P7 PANEL. THE FLIGHT ENGINEER EXTINGUISHED THIS FIRE WITH ONE SHORT BURST FROM THE HALON FIRE EXTINGUISHER. THE CREW NOTIFIED ATC, RECEIVED A CLEARANCE BACK TO HNL, AND DUMPED FUEL TO ATTAIN THE REQUIRED LANDING WEIGHT. THE LANDING WAS UNEVENTFUL, AND THE FIRE RESCUE PERSONNEL RESPONDED APPROPRIATELY. THE 411 PASSENGERS, BAGS, AND CREW BOARDED A REPLACEMENT AIRCRAFT AND CONTINUED TO NARITA.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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