I don’t have any further data, but as a – very sad – aside, not long ago about 20 (or 30?) people perished on board a dive boat here that was set alight in the wee hours by an overheating battery charger and/or Li-Ion battery.
“To get this result you would normally need some sort of flammable liquid.”
You might want to google “SWR111”.
You might want to google “SWR111”.
Or UPS 6
Cirrus apparently have published a Service Advisory, instructing all operators to keep the in flight entertainment system switched off at all times.
CIRRUS
Number: SA19-31
Issued: 31 Dec 2019
SUBJECT: Non-Essential Interior Electrical Equipment Isolation1. EFFECTIVITY
SF50 Serials 0005 & subs2. DESCRIPTION
SF50 Service Advisory
Cirrus Aircraft has been made aware of a cabin fire incident in an SF50 Vision Jet during ground opera- tions. The operator observed smoke exiting from behind the right sidewall interior panel located behind the crew seat (seat 2) and forward of the passenger seat (seat 5). Equipment located in this area of the cabin includes the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system, USB power outlets, and 110 VAC power supply. Power to all of this equipment can be removed via the IFE POWER switch located on the center console (as shown below).
Although an ongoing investigation has not yet identified a root cause for the incident, as a precaution, and until more information is known, Cirrus Aircraft instructs owners/operators to set the IFE POWER switch in the OFF position at all times; this includes both ground operations and flight operations.
Compliance with this Advisory is required until further notice.3. ACTIONS
Terminating action for this Service Advisory is pending a resolution to be provided in the release of an upcoming Service Bulletin.
EFFECTIVITY:
SF50 Serials 0005 & subs
Looking at this service advisory, this is quite a bombshell.
So if I see this correctly, the operator was on board when the fire broke out and even so could not stop this total destruction of the airframe. The equipment included would not point in the direction of a battery fire, but of an overheat of electrical equipment which set the whole cabin alight. Now, I am not sure what is more alarming but imho it would be that the cabin material would allow a fire which melts the whole fusellage to this extent and factually destroys the plane.
What about fire retardent material in the plane? What about fire protection? Something is massively wrong here. I fear this one may cause a bigger problem to Cirrus than the previous grounding of the airplane. And it may also rise questions as for the materials used on the SR20/22 series.
I see an AD in the Cirrus Jet’s future.
JasonC wrote:
I see an AD in the Cirrus Jet’s future.
I agree and possibly another grounding.
If the materials used in the Jet can cause such a fire, I wonder what the SR20/22 series use as material.
Don’t confuse fire retardant with fire resistant.
airways wrote:
Don’t confuse fire retardant with fire resistant.
That is a concern, right.
The question in my mind however is how a overheated electrical part can set the whole cabin on fire fast enough that there is no way to stop it. That would make me question also the fire retardant quality of the interior. Certainly the NTSB will look into this, as if a fire in such a place should happen in flight, then an accident would most likely be a fact. Fire being the one most dangerous thing on any airplane, I am sure this is going to be looked at.
I recall in my early days of aviation I once wanted to put a new carpet in the back of my Cessna 150 and found I had to buy very expensive certified material for that. So I would imagine that any current airplane has to be equipped with similarly certified material, which I would expect not to go up in flames like this.
However, maybe there is another factor here. Where in the Cirrus jet are the oxygen outlets installed? I recall some hull losses of airliners on the ground when oxygen bottles or generators got out of control. If there was a electrical fire close to such an outlet and the outlet would for some reason start to produce oxygen onto the fire, that would explain why the fire got out of control almost immediately.
I hope this gets cleared up in a timely manner.
JasonC wrote:
I see an AD in the Cirrus Jet’s future.
Your prophecy has come true – the FAA issued an Emergency AD local copy
Interesting is the suspected cause: The FAA reviewed Cirrus Alert Service Bulletin Number SBA5X-23-03, dated February 7, 2020 (SBA5X-23-03). The service information contains instructions to disconnect and remove the headset amplifier and microphone interface circuit card assemblies for the 3.5 mm audio and microphone jacks.
