In aviation, an in-flight fire is a type of aviation accident where an aircraft catches on fire in-flight. They are considered one of the most dangerous hazards in aviation, with a report from the British Civil Aviation Authority showing that after a fire on an aircraft starts, flight crews only have on average 17 minutes to land their aircraft before it becomes uncontrollable. [1] Between 1981 and 1990, approximately 20% of all fatalities on US airlines were caused by in-flight fires. [2]
Electrical fires are often the result of rogue sparks or the overheating of electronic components. If there are flammable materials around the source of the fire, an electrical fire can quickly spread. [7] Cockpit fires are often related to electrical fires as there many electrical components inside the cockpit that can produce sparks. If a cockpit fire is not extinguished in time, the smoke and fire on the control surfaces could make controlling the aircraft harder. [5]
Fires in the cabin can be caused by items that the passengers bring on board, like personal electronic devices, lithium batteries, cigarettes, and can be exacerbated by improper waste management. Electrical fires can also occur in the cabin area from wires that run through the cabin, like those for in-flight entertainment systems. [8]
Depending on what's inside the cargo hold of an aircraft, a cargo fire can quickly spread. For example, lithium batteries can undergo a process called thermal runaway, where the battery is able to serve as a source of heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent. [9] [10] Other hazardous cargo include items that can serve as an oxidizing agent, like oxygen bottles and cleaning products. [9]
Engines failures, mainly from loss of engine oil and uncontained engine failures, are the main cause of engine fires. [6] In these scenarios, the excess heat produced could ignite the jet fuel or jet fuel vapors inside the engine. [7]
In cases where a fire burns for a sufficient time, an event called a flashover can occur. A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of any combustible material within an enclosed area. As more flammable gasses are released when materials burn and the temperature rises, the autoignition temperature is eventually reached, causing the everything in the enclosed space to ignite. [11] Temperatures of flashovers can reach 480–650 °C (900–1,200 °F), making them unsurvivable for more than a few seconds. [12]
Since 1985, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated more fire-resistant materials to be used in aircraft to lengthen the amount of time until a flashover occurs. [13] A kerosene burner test for aircraft seats is used to validate their resistance to the type of fuel fire most commonly encountered; developments in fire-resistant foam and fire-blocking layers have adding 40 to 60 seconds of time for passengers to escape the aircraft. [2] Since 1986, aircraft cargo compartments have been required to have more fire-resistant lining and in 1998, the compartments were to have fire detection and suppression systems. [14] Halon fire extinguishers, generally using Halon 1301, are used widely throughout the aviation industry because of their high performance to weight ratio. [15] Due to its ozone depleting nature, [15] aviation fire-suppression systems are one of the last remain permitted uses of halon. [16]
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| Event | Date | Aircraft | Site | Fatalities/Occupants | Type [a] | Cause | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swissair Flight 306 | 4 September 1963 | Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III | Dürrenäsch, Aargau, Switzerland | 80/80 | Landing-gear fire | Overheated tires from excessive braking | |
| Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 | 23 June 1967 | BAC 1-11 204AF | Blossburg, Pennsylvania, United States | 34/34 | Tail section fire | Complete valve failure in APU spreading fire to the tail section | [18] |
| Interflug Flight 450 | 14 August 1972 | Ilyushin Il-62 | Königs Wusterhausen, Bezirk Potsdam, East Germany | 156/156 | Cargo fire | Hot-air tube leak | [19] [20] |
| Varig Flight 820 | 11 July 1973 | Boeing 707-320C | Near Orly Airport, Île-de-France, France | 123/134 | Cabin fire | Undetermined, potential electrical fault or lit cigarette | [21] |
| Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740 | 26 November 1979 | Boeing 707-340C | Near Taif, Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia | 156/156 | Cabin fire | Undermined, potential electrical fault or gasoline leak | [22] |
| Saudia Flight 163 | 19 August 1980 | Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar | Riyadh International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 301/301 | Cargo Fire | Undetermined | [23] |
| Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458 | 21 February 1982 | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | Scituate Reservoir, Rhode Island, United States | 1/12 | Cockpit fire | Ignition of the windshield washer/deicer fluid, exact ignition source undetermined | [24] |
| Air Canada Flight 797 | 2 June 1983 | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Kentucky, United States | 23/46 | Cabin fire | Undetermined, potential electrical fault | [25] |
| Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940 | 31 March 1986 | Boeing 727-264 | Near Maravatío, Michoacán, Mexico | 167/167 | Landing-gear fire | Under-inflated and overheated tires being filled with air, chemical reaction | [26] |
| LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 | 9 May 1987 | Ilyushin Il-62 | Kabaty Woods, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland | 183/183 | Engine fire | Disintegration of engine bearings from improper maintenance | [27] |
| South African Airways Flight 295 | 28 November 1987 | Boeing 747-244BM Combi | Indian Ocean, 225 km NE of Flacq, Mauritius | 159/159 | Cargo fire | Disputed; undetermined (Official investigation), military fuel (alternate theories) | [28] [29] |
| Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 | 11 July 1991 | Douglas DC-8-61 | Near King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 261/261 | Landing-gear fire | Under-inflated and overheated tires bursting on takeoff | [30] |
| Zambia national football team plane crash | 27 April 1993 | de Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo | Gulf of Guinea, near Akanda, Estuaire Province, Gabon | 30/30 | Engine fire | Engine defects, carbon contamination in gearbox | [31] |
| Baikal Airlines Flight 130 | 3 January 1994 | Tupolev Tu-154M | Mamony, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia | 124/124 [b] | Engine fire | Uncontained engine failure from foreign object damage | [32] |
| ValuJet Flight 592 | 11 May 1996 | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 | Everglades, Florida, United States | 110/110 | Cargo fire | Improperly packaged oxygen generators activating, excessive heat | [33] |
| FedEx Express Flight 1406 | 5 September 1996 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10CF | Stewart International Airport, New York, United States | 0/5 | Cargo fire | Undetermined | [34] |
| Propair Flight 420 | 18 June 1998 | Fairchild Metroliner SA226 | Montréal–Mirabel International Airport, Quebec, Canada | 11/11 | Landing-gear fire | Overheated dragged tires | [35] |
| Swissair Flight 111 | 2 September 1998 | McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | 10 km SW of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada | 229/229 | Electrical fire | Flammable materials around in-flight entertainment wires | [36] |
| Air France Flight 4590 | 25 July 2000 | Concorde | Gonesse, Île-de-France, France | 109/109 [c] | Fuel tank/Engine fire | Foreign object damage on landing gear | [37] |
| China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 | 7 May 2002 | McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | Bohai Bay, near Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, Liaoning, China | 112/112 | Cabin fire | Intentional gasoline fire, attempted insurance fraud | [38] |
| UPS Airlines Flight 6 | 3 September 2010 | Boeing 747-400F | Near Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 2/2 | Cargo fire | Autoignition of cargo pallet with lithium batteries | [39] |
| Asiana Airlines Flight 991 | 28 July 2011 | Boeing 747-400F | East China Sea, 160 km (99 mi) W of Jeju City, Jeju Province, South Korea | 2/2 | Cargo fire | Undetermined | [40] |
| EgyptAir Flight 804 | 19 May 2016 | Airbus A320-232 | Mediterranean Sea, 280 km (170 mi) N of Alexandria | 66/66 | Cabin/Cockpit fire [d] | Disputed; bombing (ECAA), leaking oxygen mask (BEA) | [41] [42] |
ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami to Atlanta in the United States. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the route crashed into the Florida Everglades about ten minutes after departing Miami as a result of a fire in the cargo compartment caused by mislabeled and improperly stored hazardous cargo. All 110 people on board were killed.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, and Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah. On August 31, 1988, the flight, using a Boeing 727-200 series aircraft, crashed during takeoff at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, resulting in 14 deaths and 76 injuries among the 108 on board.
Saudia Flight 163 was a scheduled Saudia passenger flight departing from Quaid-e-Azam Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, bound for Kandara Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which caught fire after takeoff from Riyadh International Airport on 19 August 1980. Although the Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar made a successful emergency landing at Riyadh, the flight crew failed to perform an emergency evacuation of the airplane, leading to the deaths of all 287 passengers and 14 crew on board the aircraft from smoke inhalation.
Air Canada Flight 797 was an international passenger flight operating from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Montréal–Dorval International Airport, with an intermediate stop at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
United Airlines Flight 811 was a regularly scheduled international flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, with intermediate stops at Honolulu and Auckland. On February 24, 1989, the Boeing 747-122 serving the flight experienced a cargo-door failure in flight shortly after leaving Honolulu. The resulting explosive decompression blew out several rows of seats, killing nine passengers. The aircraft returned to Honolulu and landed without further incident.
United Air Lines Flight 266 was a scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles International Airport, California, to General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, via Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado. On January 18, 1969, at approximately 18:21 PST, the Boeing 727 operating the flight crashed into Santa Monica Bay, Pacific Ocean, about 11.5 miles (18.5 km) west of Los Angeles International Airport, four minutes after takeoff, killing all 38 on board.
Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 was a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727-22 that collided with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on July 19, 1967, over Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States. Both aircraft were destroyed and all passengers and crew were killed, including John T. McNaughton, an advisor to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The aircraft were both operating under instrument flight rules and were in radio contact with the Asheville control tower, though on different frequencies. The accident investigation was the first of a major scale conducted by the newly created National Transportation Safety Board. A review of the investigation conducted 39 years after the accident upheld the original findings that had placed primary responsibility on the Cessna pilot.
In aviation, the sterile flight deck rule or sterile cockpit rule is a procedural requirement that during critical phases of flight, only activities required for the safe operation of the aircraft may be carried out by the flight crew, and all non-essential activities in the cockpit are forbidden. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed the rule in 1981, after reviewing a series of accidents that were caused by flight crews who were distracted from their flying duties by engaging in non-essential conversations and activities during critical parts of the flight.
FedEx Express Flight 647 was a flight between Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, Oakland, California and Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee in the United States, that crashed during landing on December 18, 2003.
Aircraft emergency oxygen systems or air masks are emergency equipment fitted to pressurized commercial aircraft, intended for use when the cabin pressurisation system has failed and the cabin altitude has climbed above a safe level. It consists of a number of individual yellow oxygen masks stored in compartments near passenger seats and near areas like lavatories and galleys, and an oxygen source, like a centralized gaseous cylinder or decentralized chemical oxygen generator.
UPS Airlines Flight 6 was a scheduled international cargo flight operated by UPS. On September 3, 2010, the Boeing 747-400F flying the route between Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Cologne, Germany, developed an in-flight fire, which caused the aircraft to crash, killing both crew members, the only people on board. It was the first fatal air crash for UPS Airlines. The accident prompted a re-evaluation of safety procedures protecting airliners from cockpit smoke.
National Airlines Flight 102 (N8102/NCR102) was a cargo flight operated by National Airlines between Camp Shorabak near the city of Lashkargah in Afghanistan and Al Maktoum Airport in Dubai, with a refueling stop at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. On 29 April 2013, the Boeing 747-400 operating the flight crashed within the perimeter of the Bagram airfield moments after taking off, killing all seven people on board.
United Airlines Flight 2885 was a scheduled cargo flight from Cleveland to Los Angeles, with stopover in Detroit. On January 11, 1983, a DC-8 operating as Flight 2885 crashed after take-off from Detroit, killing all three crew members. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation determined that the cause for the crash was pilot error. A radioactive package was found on board, but no radioactive material was spilled.
American Airlines Flight 383 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois to Miami International Airport. On October 28, 2016, the Boeing 767-300ER operating the flight suffered an engine fire during takeoff. The crew aborted their takeoff, evacuating everyone on board, of whom 21 were injured. The plane was a write-off.
On October 28, 2016, FedEx Express Flight 910, a McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F flying from Memphis International Airport to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport was involved in a runway skid after a landing gear collapse, which resulted in a fire completely destroying the left engine and wing. Two crew members, the only people on board, were unharmed.
Federal Express Flight 1406 was an American domestic cargo flight from Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee, to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, that suffered an in-flight cargo fire over New York on September 5, 1996. The three crew members and two passengers on board successfully evacuated after an emergency landing at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York. After the evacuation, the DC-10 was consumed by fire. After an extensive investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) couldn't determine what caused the fire. Nevertheless, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made recommendations to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Pan Am Flight 799 was an international cargo flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Cam Ranh Airport in South Vietnam that crashed on December 26, 1968, near Anchorage, Alaska. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-321C aircraft operated by Pan American World Airways. All three crew members died in the crash.
Atlas Air Flight 3591 was a scheduled domestic cargo flight under the Amazon Air banner between Miami International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. On February 23, 2019, the Boeing 767-375ER(BCF) used for this flight crashed into Trinity Bay during approach into Houston, killing the two crew members and a single passenger on board. The accident occurred near Anahuac, Texas, east of Houston, shortly before 12:45 CST (18:45 UTC). This was the first fatal crash of a Boeing 767 freighter.
Pan Am Flight 160 was a scheduled cargo flight which crashed on November 3, 1973. The Boeing 707 of Pan Am crashed after smoke in the cockpit prevented the crew from keeping control of the aircraft, killing all three occupants on board.
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