Guitar Guy
Enlightened
I watched another episode of Air Disasters a couple of nights ago. "Fatal Delivery" - season 9 episode 5, from 2016, about a fatal crash of a UPS Boeing 747 in Dubai caused by a shipment of 81000 pounds of Lithium batteries that caught on fire. It was pretty interesting. They didn't specify if they were Li-ion or Lithium primaries, and didn't determine what started the fire. My guess is just being banged around during loading.
By the time the fire warning went off, it was too late. The fire suppression system wouldn't handle it. The fire burned through the fire resistant liner in the cargo hold and damaged the manual flight controls in the ceiling. The auto pilot controls were in the bottom of the jet so they were still able to fly for 20 more minutes and almost made it back to the airport to land by instruments.
The cockpit filled with smoke to the point where they could barely see out the windscreens or see the instruments, auto pilot settings, etc. The Captain's oxygen mask worked for a while, but that system was damaged too, and he passed out. The co-pilot almost made the landing. Air controllers guided him back but when they told him to make a heading of 095 to the runway, he accidentally punched in 195, which steered the plane right instead of left.
The fire kept spreading through the cargo hold from front to back, and it started in the worst location, damaging the flight controls. The co-pilot was dealing with excessive heat and smoke in the cockpit, and was out of time. He did manage to avoid a residential area before going down, and crashed it near a military base, killing both pilots.
Solutions they were working on as of 2016 were actual individual containers for batteries which would contain a 1200 degree battery fire for 4 hours, rather than skids full of batteries lining the cargo hold which could easily spread. Also, implementing better oxygen masks which could be put on with one hand in 3 seconds, and a type of plastic bubble which would shield the pilots from severe smoke.
It was an interesting episode. Parts of it are on youtube, and I think the full episode is here. I think it's free, you just have to sign up for an account / password.
www.smithsonianchannel.com
This isn't the episode I watched on Smithsonian, but it is an overview of the same incident.
I though maybe you flashaholics and batteryholics would find it interesting.
By the time the fire warning went off, it was too late. The fire suppression system wouldn't handle it. The fire burned through the fire resistant liner in the cargo hold and damaged the manual flight controls in the ceiling. The auto pilot controls were in the bottom of the jet so they were still able to fly for 20 more minutes and almost made it back to the airport to land by instruments.
The cockpit filled with smoke to the point where they could barely see out the windscreens or see the instruments, auto pilot settings, etc. The Captain's oxygen mask worked for a while, but that system was damaged too, and he passed out. The co-pilot almost made the landing. Air controllers guided him back but when they told him to make a heading of 095 to the runway, he accidentally punched in 195, which steered the plane right instead of left.
The fire kept spreading through the cargo hold from front to back, and it started in the worst location, damaging the flight controls. The co-pilot was dealing with excessive heat and smoke in the cockpit, and was out of time. He did manage to avoid a residential area before going down, and crashed it near a military base, killing both pilots.
Solutions they were working on as of 2016 were actual individual containers for batteries which would contain a 1200 degree battery fire for 4 hours, rather than skids full of batteries lining the cargo hold which could easily spread. Also, implementing better oxygen masks which could be put on with one hand in 3 seconds, and a type of plastic bubble which would shield the pilots from severe smoke.
It was an interesting episode. Parts of it are on youtube, and I think the full episode is here. I think it's free, you just have to sign up for an account / password.
Air Disasters - Fatal Delivery | Smithsonian Channel
The two-man crew of a UPS cargo jet must attempt an emergency landing when a fire in the cargo hold fills their cockpit with smoke.
www.smithsonianchannel.com
This isn't the episode I watched on Smithsonian, but it is an overview of the same incident.
I though maybe you flashaholics and batteryholics would find it interesting.
!
