A video-entertainment system caught fire aboard an Air Canada Airbus
passenger jet parked at Vancouver International Airport last year, drawing
a frightening parallel to the Swissair disaster off Nova Scotia that
killed all 229 people on board in 1998.
The Vancouver fire, which occurred 40 minutes before passengers were
set to board, has spurred a series of safety directives related to the
replacement of faulty components and the installation of special switches
to cut electrical power to entertainment systems.
The in-charge flight attendant aboard the Airbus A330-300 on Jan. 17,
2002, shut off the power switch to the forward-galley entertainment system
at the first sign of trouble.
However, two internal six-volt batteries continued to power the system
while completing a systematic shutdown, giving new life to the smouldering
fire.
Details of the fire are contained in a federal transportation safety
board report concluded in January but obtained for the first time by The
Vancouver Sun this week.
"It powers itself for two minutes even after it's shut down," regional
safety board manager Bill Yearwood confirmed in an interview from his
Richmond office. "That's the concern. The crew wasn't aware of the
intricacies of the system."
Fortunately, the Vancouver incident occurred on the ground and the
flight attendant managed to put out the blaze using a halon fire
extinguisher while it was contained to the entertainment system.
However, the circumstances are hauntingly reminiscent of the crash of a
Swissair MD-11 aircraft off Peggy's Cove. A federal report being released
today into that crash is expected to point to a fire in the wiring of the
entertainment system as the possible cause.
"There are a lot of concerns about flight entertainment systems," said
Yearwood. "The issue is that these systems may not be as stringently
scrutinized as normal aircraft components."
The P@ssport entertainment system that caught fire aboard the Airbus in
Vancouver had been repaired by manufacturer Rockwell Collins Inc. of
Pomona, Calif., three times over the preceding three months.
In October 2001, the processing board that included a faulty U-18
switching regulator was replaced. In November, the system was returned to
Rockwell Collins after it started to smoke. In December, it was returned
once more and another processing board installed.
The U-18 component is used in 539 processing boards in P@ssport systems
aboard 27 aircraft worldwide, the report said.
In August 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. had
issued a series of airworthiness directives ordering the installation of
power switches on entertainment systems that could not be completely
powered off.
But those directives did not extend to the P@ssport system or the
Airbus model that caught fire in Vancouver.
As a direct result of the Airbus fire, Rockwell Collins issued a number
of service bulletins requiring airlines to replace defective U-18
components built before July 2000, said the safety board report.
Airbus is also issuing its own service bulletins ordering the
installation of a main power switch for all P@ssport entertainment systems
aboard A330 and A340 aircraft.
Air Canada is complying with the bulletins, said the safety board
report.
Angela Mah, spokesman for Air Canada in Vancouver, said there are eight
Airbus A330-300 aircraft in the company's fleet, each with a capacity of
292 passengers.
She could not immediately provide specifics on the number of passengers
scheduled to board the plane that caught fire or its destination, but
confirmed it is Air Canada policy to act on all safety bulletins.
The fallout from these incidents is affecting at least one
Vancouver-based charter operator.
Brent Statton, general manager for HMY Airways, said Transport Canada
ordered the company to deactivate the entertainment systems aboard two
Boeing 757 aircraft brought into Canada last fall until they meet safety
concerns. In the meantime, the company has been flying to destinations as
far afield as Mexico and Britain without in-flight movies.
"The concern has arisen from the incident in Nova Scotia," Statton
confirmed. "True, some customers are disappointed a movie is not
available. But the most important thing is safety."
Transport Canada officials refused to talk about the issue of aircraft
entertainment systems pending release of the Swissair report.