Arabia A320 near Riyadh on Mar 17th 2016, cargo smoke indication, delayed emergency services prompt evacuation

Last Update: May 15, 2018 / 15:30:06 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Mar 17, 2016

Classification
Incident

Cause
Cargo smoke indication

Airline
Air Arabia

Flight number
G9-185

Departure
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Destination
Taif, Saudi Arabia

Aircraft Registration
A6-AOJ

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200, registration A6-AOJ performing flight G9-185 from Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) to Taif (Saudi Arabia), was enroute at FL340 about 140nm south of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) when the crew received a cargo smoke indication and decided to divert to Riyadh. The aircraft landed safely on Riyadh's runway 33L. The aircraft was evacuated after landing, there were no injuries.

The airline reported the cargo smoke indication was identified false.

On Mar 25th 2016 the French BEA reported that Saudi Arabia's Accident Investigation Board (SAAIB) rated the occurrence a serious incident and opened an investigation. The crew had received a cargo smoke indication for the aft cargo bay and diverted to Riyadh where the aircraft was evacuated.

In 2018 the SAAIB reported that the crew received numerous smoke indications for the forward and aft cargo bays. The captain discharged a fire bottle into the cargo area and diverted to Riyadh for a safe landing. The SAAIB stated however: "The aircraft landed safely but the Fire Rescue Service (FRS) was not readily available to meet the aircraft resulting in the emergency evacuation of the aircraft, deploying the emergency slides. No injuries were reported." The investigation determined that all indications were false, however, led the flight crew to believe there was an ongoing fire in the cargo holds. Due to the delay in the response of emergency services as well as what was believed to be a strong odour in the aft galley the captain initiated the evacuation. The odour originated from a galley cart that was missing a lid allowing a strong odour to escape near the R2 door.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Mar 17, 2016

Classification
Incident

Cause
Cargo smoke indication

Airline
Air Arabia

Flight number
G9-185

Departure
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Destination
Taif, Saudi Arabia

Aircraft Registration
A6-AOJ

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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