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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. Between 1981 and 1990, approximately 20% of all fatalities on US airlines were caused by in-flight fires.

Types

• Cabin fire – A fire in the passenger cabin.
  • Includes related areas like lavatories, galleys, overhead compartments, and items on passengers.
• Cargo fire – A fire inside the cargo hold.
• Cockpit fire – A fire in the cockpit.
• Electrical fire – A fire occurring from electrical wires or other electrical systems.
• Engine fire – A fire inside of an aircraft engine.

Causes and spread

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. 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.

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.

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. Other hazardous cargo include items that can serve as an oxidizing agent, like oxygen bottles and cleaning products.

Engines failures, mainly from loss of engine oil and uncontained engine failures, are the main cause of engine fires. In these scenarios, the excess heat produced could ignite the jet fuel or jet fuel vapors inside the engine.

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. Temperatures of flashovers can reach 480–650 °C (900–1,200 °F), making them unsurvivable for more than a few seconds.

Prevention

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. 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. 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. Halon fire extinguishers, generally using Halon 1301, are used widely throughout the aviation industry because of their high performance to weight ratio. Due to its ozone depleting nature, aviation fire-suppression systems are one of the last remain permitted uses of halon.

Notable examples

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2024)

Notes

1. This represents where the fire first started, even if it ended up elsewhere in the aircraft
2. A total of 125 people were killed as one person was killed on the ground
3. A total of 113 people were killed as four people were killed on the ground
4. The ECAA claimed that the fire started in the forward galley while the BEA claimed that the fire started in the cockpit

References

1. "Fire in the Air". SkyBrary. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
2. ^ "Fire Research". Federal Aviation Administration Fire Safety. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
3. ^ "Passenger Cabin Fire". SkyBrary. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
4. "Cargo Fire Safety – Cargo Hazards, Risks, and Mitigations". Federal Aviation Administration Fire Safety. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
5. ^ Simon, Jeff (24 February 2020). "AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE: FIGHTING A COCKPIT FIRE". Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
6. ^ "Fire in Flight". Aviation Safety Magazine. Aviation Safety Staff. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
7. ^ Rossier, Robert N. (4 February 2016). "AIRCRAFT FIRES". Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
8. Rebekah (8 December 2019). "How common are commercial airplane fires?". FireSystems.neet. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
9. ^ "Hazard: Passenger Baggage". Federal Aviation Administration Fire Safety. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
10. "What Is Thermal Runaway?". UL Research Institute. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
11. "Flashover". SkyBrary. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
12. Pennington, Ryan. "Three Lessons from the Fire Behavior Lab" (PDF). Connecticut Fire Academy. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
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14. "Protecting Aircraft and Passengers from Cargo Fires" (PDF). SkyBrary. Safety First. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
15. ^ "Halon Fire Extinguishers". SkyBrary. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
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28. "Report of the Board of Inquiry into the loss of South African Airways Boeing 747-22B Combi Aircraft "Helderberg" in the Indian Ocean on November 28th 1987" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
29. "Helderberg Conspiracy" (PDF) (PDF). Carte Blanche. 4 June 2000.
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31. Accident description for AF-319 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 9 March 2024.
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33. "In-Flight Fire and Impact with Terrain, ValuJet Airlines Flight 592, DC-9-32, N904VJ, Everglades, Near Miami, Florida, May 11, 1996" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 19 August 1997. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
34. "In-flight Fire/Emergency Landing, Federal Express Flight 1406, Stewart International Airport, Newburgh, New York, September 5, 1996" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 22 July 1998.
35. "In-Flight Fire-Landing Gear Well Propair Inc. Swearingen SA226-TC C-GQAL Montréal/Mirabel International Airport, Quebec 18 June 1998". Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
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37. "Accident on 25 July 2000 at La Patte d'Oie in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC operated by Air France" (PDF). Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. 16 January 2002. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
38. Criminal occurrence description for B-2138 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 8 March 2024.
39. "Air Accident Investigation Report Uncontained Cargo Fire Leading to Loss of Control Inflight and Uncontrolled Descent Into Terrain Boeing 747-44AF N571UP Dubai United Arab Emirates 03 September 2010" (PDF). General Civil Aviation Authority. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
40. Crash Into The Sea After An In-Flight Fire, Asiana Airlines, Boeing 747-400F, HL7604, International Waters 130 km West Of Jeju International Airport, 28 July 2011 (PDF). skybrary.aero (Report). Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
41. Final Report EgyptAir A320 Aircraft crash in the Mediterranean, registered SU-GCC, flight number MSR804, from Charles De-Gaulle Airport, Paris to Cairo International Airport, on 19/05/2016 (Report). Ministry of Civil Aviation (Egypt). 30 October 2024.

• Types of fire
• Aviation accidents and incidents
• Aviation risks
• Aircraft fires
• Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight fires