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In-Flight Fire: Guidance for Controllers
From SKYbrary Wiki
| Article Information | ||
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| Category: | Fire Smoke and Fumes | 
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| Content source: | SKYbrary | 
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| Content control: | EUROCONTROL | 
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In-Flight Fire: Guidance for Controllers
Contents |
Description
This article provides guidance for controllers on what to expect of an aircraft experiencing an in-flight fire and some of the considerations which will enable the controller not only to provide as much support as possible to the aircraft concerned but also maintain the safety of other aircraft in the vicinity and the ATM system in general.
In-Flight Fire
Fire in the air is one of the most hazardous situations that a flight crew can be faced with. Without aggressive intervention by the flight crew, a fire on board an aircraft can lead to the catastrophic loss of that aircraft within a very short space of time. Once a fire has become established, it is unlikely that the crew will be able to extinguish it. To stand any chance of survival, the aircraft must land as soon as possible. For more information see the main article In-Flight Fire
Communication
At the first indication, or suspicion, of smoke and fumes, or a fire within the aircraft the flight crew will don smoke goggles and oxygen masks. The wearing of oxygen masks may make the voice messages more difficult to understand.
The fire may well affect aircraft systems and the crew will try to isolate the cause of the fire. As a consequence, data link equipment, transponders, and even radios, may cease to function correctly or be switched off.
After the initial emergency call, and having declared their intentions, the crew will turn their attention to isolating and fighting the fire, and may therefore not respond to calls. The controller will need to be patient and try to anticipate the actions of the flight crew.
If possible, the controller should reduce the amount of RTF traffic on the frequency, clear other traffic to another frequency, or direct aircraft concerned onto a discreet frequency. If possible, it would be advisable to minimise the number of frequency changes given to the aircraft as this increases the chance of loss of communication.
Plan for Immediate Descent and Landing
Many smoke and fire warnings turn out to be spurious. However, if it is a real fire, then a flight crew does not have very long to deal with the situation - time is critical. The crew will commence descent immediately and begin planning for an emergency landing. The crew will not necessarily wait for clearance to descend and if they do ask for clearance for descent and vectors to the closest airfield, will commence descent without clearance if that clearance is not immediately forthcoming.
Take any measure deemed necessary to ensure unrestricted descent to the flight experiencing in-flight fire emergency. If emergency descent is at hand, the aircraft must not descend below the lowest published Minimum Safe Altitude which will provide a minimum vertical clearance of 300m (1000 ft) or in designated mountainous terrain 600m (2000 ft) above all obstacles located in the area specified.
Putting an aircraft on the ground within 15 minutes of a fire being detected is a challenge for the pilot of a modern passenger jet at cruising altitude, so expect the descent to be rapid.
Give clearance for, and expect, the aircraft to take the shortest most direct route to a runway, regardless of the runway in use at the intended landing airfield, arrival procedures, or traffic.
In certain circumstances, the flight crew may ask for assistance from another aircraft, such as a military interceptor, to confirm signs of fire on the aircraft (for example where the fire relates to a tail mounted engine).
If there is quantifiable evidence of an uncontrolled fire, then there is a real possibility of loss of control in the short term, and therefore the crew may elect to land the aircraft off-field or ditch the aircraft in the sea, on a lake, or shoreline as it may be the only way of surviving the experience.
Seek Help and Warn
Having acknowledged the emergency call, the controller should immediately inform the supervisor and/or colleagues of the situation.
Warn adjacent sectors and airfields:
- emergency services at the potential diversion airfields will welcome as much warning as possible.
- The likelihood is that the runway will be closed when the subject aircraft lands with obvious repercussions for other inbound aircraft.