Emirates B773 near Stockholm on Feb 14th 2011, smoke in cabin
Last Update: June 9, 2015 / 16:19:00 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 14, 2011
Classification
Incident
Cause
Smoke in cabin
Airline
Emirates Airlines
Flight number
EK-203
Departure
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Destination
New York JFK, United States
Aircraft Registration
A6-ECE
Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300
ICAO Type Designator
B773
The airplane was able to depart again after 5.5 hours on the ground.
Arlanda Airport reported, that the crew did not evacuate the aircraft, the passengers disembarked normally instead and waited inside the terminal.
The Swedish Havarikommission announced on Feb 17th that they are going to investigate the occurrence.
On Jun 9th 2015 the United Arab Emirates Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) released their final report into the incident concluding:
This investigation was unable to determine the cause of the disturbing odor in the passenger cabin.
The GCAA reported that Sweden's Havarikommission offered to delegate the investigation to the GCAA which was accepted.
The aircraft was enroute when an odour of burning rubber and sulphur was noticed in the cabin prompting the crew to divert to Stockholm for a safe landing at maximum landing weight.
Following maintenance action the aircraft departed again. At FL300 the odour occurred again. In consultation with maintenance the crew shut the right hand pack off in order to isolate the ozone system, after a few minutes the smell subsided and the flight continued to destination normally.
Following landing in New York the right hand pack's lower flow control valve was disabled in the closed position to isolate the ozone converter. Both packs were operated on the ground with no further anomaly noticed.
However, after departure from New York the smell occurred again, the right hand pack was shut down and the flight continued to destination. Subsequent flights were without anomaly.
The GCAA described maintenance actions at New York: "At JFK, the IFE Cooling Fan was replaced and the IFE System was checked by an engineer for full functionality. The system was found to function correctly. In the process of fault isolation, the RH Air Conditioning Pack upper Flow Control Valve (FCV) was deactivated in the closed position in order to force the ozone converter to be in the operational loop with the lower FCV. Under this condition, a strong smell reappeared in the cockpit and there was also an odor in the passenger cabin. In order to further identify the source the RH Pack Lower FCV was deactivated, and the Pack was selected to full heat and left running for ten minutes. Then the system was selected to normal zone temperature, and no odor was sensed. Four different persons confirmed the lack of smell, along with the out-bound cockpit crew. The Aircraft was dispatched with the RH Pack Lower FCV Deactivated in the Closed position (MEL 21-51-02-02 Cat-C) and consequently the Right Pack Ozone Converter was INOP (MEL 21-73-01 Cat-C);"
The investigation had the heat exchanger (HX) and condenser/reheater examined by the manufacturer, both were found contaminated with fluid. The HX had been cleaned prior to the occurrence and kept in storage before being mounted to the occurrence aircraft two days prior to the event.
The wet spot in the HX was identified to be water. The investigation attempted to analyse the wet spot in the condenser/reheater however failed to take samples, the liquid appeared to be water though, too. The GCAA annotated that even if the fluid had been anti-corrosion liquid as used to protect the condenser/reheater against corrosion, the smell would not have been sulphur like.
The GCAA stated therefore:
Because there was no foreign contamination found inside the HX or the Condenser/Reheater, it is concluded that neither unit contributed to the odor encountered in flight, and later on the ground during troubleshooting.
Further, since the smell was strong in the overwing cabin area, with the ozone converter in the flow circuit, and that the smell lessened when the ozone converter was bypassed, the most likely source of the smell was the ozone converter. The same HX and Condenser/Reheater were in the pack when both of these tests were run, including when there was no smell in the cabin.
Catalytic type converters are known to produce sulphur dioxide gas under certain conditions in the presence of exhaust fumes from burning hydrocarbon fuels. An aircraft that is in line for takeoff on a taxiway behind other aircraft with their engines running could conceivably ingest exhaust fumes into the bleed air supply system, and subsequently into the ozone converter. It is noted that trim air to the flight deck and cabin distribution system always passes through the ozone converter.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 14, 2011
Classification
Incident
Cause
Smoke in cabin
Airline
Emirates Airlines
Flight number
EK-203
Departure
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Destination
New York JFK, United States
Aircraft Registration
A6-ECE
Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-300
ICAO Type Designator
B773
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
Emirates A388 enroute on Dec 4th 2023, turbulence injures 28
An Emirates Airbus A380-800, registration A6-EEV performing flight EK-421 from Perth,WA (Australia) to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) with 463…
Emirates B773 at Dubai on Jan 9th 2022, rejected takeoff without clearance due to crossing aircraft
An Emirates Boeing 777-300, registration A6-EQA performing flight EK-524 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Hyderabad (India) with 173 passengers…
Emirates B773 near St. John's on Nov 25th 2023, equipment failure
An Emirates Boeing 777-300, registration A6-EBQ performing flight EK-210 (dep Nov 24th) from Newark,NJ (USA) to Athens (Greece), was enroute at FL330…
Emirates A388 at Singapore on Mar 2nd 2023, runway excursion on landing
An Emirates Airbus A380-800, registration A6-EVJ performing flight EK-354 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Singapore (Singapore), landed on…
Emirates A388 near Dubai on Oct 16th 2023, engine trouble
An Emirates Airbus A380-800, registration A6-EVF performing flight EK-412 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Sydney,NS (Australia), was climbing…
Newest articles
Algerie B738 at Oran on Mar 27th 2024, cracked window
An Air Algerie Boeing 737-800, registration 7T-VJK performing flight AH-1084 from Oran (Algerie) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France), was enroute at…
Delta BCS3 at Seattle on Mar 27th 2024, brakes failure
A Delta Airlines Bombardies C-Series CS-300, registration N301DU performing flight DL-829 from Anchorage,AK to Seattle,WA (USA), was on final…
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