British Airways B772 over Atlantic on Dec 2nd 2012, smoke in cabin
Last Update: November 11, 2013 / 17:27:42 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Dec 2, 2012
Classification
Incident
Cause
Smoke in cabin
Airline
British Airways
Aircraft Registration
G-VIIK
Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-200
ICAO Type Designator
B772
The AAIU reported that while enroute over the Atlantic the crew experienced three smoke encounters. The captain (pilot monitoring) described the third smoke event as "quite bad" prompting the commander to instruct the first officer (pilot flying) to don his oxygen mask, the captain declared Mayday and instructed the aircraft to descend to FL150. The captain did not don his oxygen mask considering this would impair radio communication. The aircraft diverted to Shannon at FL150, while enroute to Shannon the crew actioned the relevant smoke checklists and cleared the smoke. The crew therefore downgraded the Mayday to PAN about 30 minutes after declaring Mayday reporting that the diversion to Shannon was still necessary due to the higher fuel burn at FL150, after working the checklists and following diagnosis the right hand equipment cooling fan had failed. The aircraft landed safely on Shannon's runway 24 118 minutes after declaring Mayday.
Maintenance disabled the right hand cooling supply fan in accordance with the aircraft maintenance manual and released the aircraft under minimum equipment list requirements to return to London. The aircraft was ferried to London.
Examination of the fan showed that the front bearing race had collapsed, a common fault. Due to the contact of rotating parts with stationary parts overheating occurred, internal protecting logic shut down the fan and activated the left hand cooling fan.
All fan bearings of the faulty fan were replaced and the rotor balanced.
The AAIU commented: "This occurrence, which developed in mid-Atlantic, was operationally well handled by the flight crew who, when faced with the threat of smoke on the flightdeck, made the prudent decision to declare an emergency, to make an early descent and to set course for the nearest diversion airport. The AAIU is aware of several similar occurrences with other operator’s aircraft, which have necessitated diversions into Irish airports. The Operator is working towards the installation of vibration monitors, which should result in early detection of fan issues and thus lead to a reduction in the number of fan failures leading to in-flight smoke events."
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Dec 2, 2012
Classification
Incident
Cause
Smoke in cabin
Airline
British Airways
Aircraft Registration
G-VIIK
Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-200
ICAO Type Designator
B772
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source
You can read 2 more free articles without a subscription.
Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!
Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.
Send tip
Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.
Related articles
Fleet type match
British Airways B772 near London on Feb 12th 2017, strong electrical odour on board
A British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-VIIK performing flight BA-123 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Doha (Qatar), was climbing out of…
Fleet type match
British Airways A320 at Milan on Apr 4th 2024, engine shut down in flight
A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUYD performing flight BA-568 from London Heathrow,EN (UK) to Milan Linate (Italy), was on approach…
Fleet type match
British Airways A320 at Manchester on Mar 28th 2024, smoke in cockpit
A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUUC performing flight BA-1396 from London Heathrow,EN to Manchester,EN (UK), was on approach to…
Fleet type match
British Airways B772 over Atlantic on Mar 15th 2024, one of the pilots incapacitated
A British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-VIIP performing flight BA-2272 from New York JFK,NY (USA) to London Gatwick,EN (UK), was enroute at…
Fleet type match
British Airways B773 near Singapore on Jun 16th 2023, turbulence causes injuries
A British Airways Boeing 777-300, registration G-STBL performing flight BA-12 (dep Jun 15th) from Singapore (Singapore) to London Heathrow,EN (UK)…
Fleet type match
British Airways A320 near Nantes on Jan 2nd 2023, fumes in cockpit
A British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUYH performing flight BA-493 from Gibraltar (Gibraltar) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was enroute at…
Newest articles
Zagros MD83 at Queshm on Dec 30th 2023, approached wrong airport
A Zagros Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration EP-ZAQ performing flight ZO-4035 from Tehran Mehrabad to Queshm (Iran) with 127 passengers…
Fleet type match
Serbia A320 near Amsterdam on Apr 15th 2024, hydraulic failure
An Air Serbia Airbus A320-200, registration YU-APO performing flight JU-260 from Belgrade (Serbia) to Amsterdam (Netherlands), was descending towards…
Subscribe today
Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.
Pick your plan and subscribePartner
A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.
ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more.
Your regulation partner, specialists in aviation safety and compliance; providing training, auditing, and consultancy services. Find out more.
AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American AirlinesUnited
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways