OLT Express A320 near Sofia on May 17th 2012, loss of cabin pressure, fire in cabin

Last Update: May 30, 2012 / 16:10:47 GMT/Zulu time

Bookmark this article
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 17, 2012

Cause
Loss of cabin pressure

Airline
OLT Express

Flight number
YAP-7107

Departure
Warsaw, Poland

Destination
Hurghada, Egypt

Aircraft Registration
SP-IAE

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

An OLT Express Airbus A320-200, registration SP-IAE performing flight YAP-7107 from Warsaw (Poland) to Hurghada (Egypt) with 147 passengers and 8 crew, was enroute at FL370 about 60nm northnortheast of Sofia (Bulgaria) when the crew reported the loss of cabin pressure, initiated an emergency descent and decided to divert to Sofia. During the descent the crew reported a fire in the cabin, cabin crew attempted to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers, after checking in with Sofia Tower the crew repeated they had a fire in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely on runway 27 about 13 minutes after leaving FL370 and stopped on the runway. The aircraft was evacuated via slides. No injuries occurred.

The airport was closed for about one hour.

Emergency services found soot on one of the passenger oxygen masks, which had deployed during the descent towards Sofia.

The airline reported the aircraft diverted to Sofia due to the loss of cabin pressure, one of the (chemical) oxygen generators feeding the passenger oxygen masks produced sparks and visible flames causing the carpet to catch fire, the fire was quickly extinguished by cabin crew. After evacuation the passengers were taken to the terminal and provided with assistance, a replacement Air Via aircraft is going to continue the flight at 19:30L (16:30Z).

Bulgaria's AAIB reported the aircraft initiated an emergency descent from FL370, the passenger oxygen masks were released. On approach to Sofia, about 10nm from touch down, the crew reported a fire in the cabin, which was due to a oxygen generator which had detached from its compartment and fell onto the floor. The fire was extinguished by a flight attendant using a portable fire extinguisher. The aircraft landed on runway 27, the occupants were evacuated.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 17, 2012

Cause
Loss of cabin pressure

Airline
OLT Express

Flight number
YAP-7107

Departure
Warsaw, Poland

Destination
Hurghada, Egypt

Aircraft Registration
SP-IAE

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

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!

Subscribe now
Are you a subscriber? Login
Subscribe

Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.

Compare our plans

Send tip

Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.

Send tip

Related articles

Newest articles

Subscribe today

Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.

Pick your plan and subscribe

Partner

Blockaviation logo

A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.

ELITE Logo

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.

SafetyScan Pro

SafetyScan Pro provides streamlined access to thousands of aviation accident reports. Tailored for your safety management efforts. Book your demo today

AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American Airlines
United
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways