ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 247222
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| Date: | Thursday 1 October 2020 |
| Time: | 08:00 UTC |
| Type: |  Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner |
| Owner/operator: | British Airways |
| Registration: | G-ZBKF |
| MSN: | 38622/392 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2016 |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-J2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 63 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | near Bristol, Gloucestershire, en route Miami-London -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Miami International Airport, FL (MIA/KMIA) |
| London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
AAIB investigation to Boeing 787-9, G-ZBKF: Mobile phone crushed in seat mechanism, London Heathrow Airport, 1 October 2020. The AAIB Final Report was published 19 April 2021, and the following is the summary from it:
"The aircraft was flying from Miami International Airport, USA to London Heathrow Airport. Approximately 40 minutes before landing the flight crew made an announcement that woke a passenger. The passenger moved her seat from the flat-bed position to a more upright position then left her seat to use the washroom. One of the cabin crew asked the passenger if she could stow the bedding whilst the passenger was away from her seat.
As she removed the bedding, she smelt a strong odour and noticed a charging cable which was plugged in to the seat socket with the other end down the side of the seat. The smell, which she described as “sulphur”, was getting stronger so she attracted the attention of the Senior Cabin Crew Member (SCCM).
At this point they heard a “hissing” sound and a large lume of grey smoke emitted from the seat in a “tornado” motion. They remembered seeing an orange glow in the seat area amongst the smoke.0
The crew member retrieved a BCF1 fire extinguisher and fire gloves for the SCCM and asked a third crew member to switch the seat power off. The SCCM pulled back the seat padding exposing a device trapped in the seat mechanism. She discharged several bursts of BCF into the device. The crew member then collected a water extinguisher and filled an ice bucket with water. The third crew member contacted the flight crew.
Shortly before receiving the call from the cabin crew the flight crew smelt an acrid odour on the flight deck. The cabin crew informed the commander that thick smoke was emanating from a seat in the forward cabin and that they had initiated their firefighting drill. The flight crew started the smoke, fire or fumes checklist and evaluated their diversion options.The third pilot went back to the cabin to assist.
After the SCCM had discharged the BCF, the smoke quickly dissipated and the crew were able to clearly see a red mobile phone trapped in the seat mechanism. The crew attempted to remove the device but it was jammed. There was very little heat coming from the device.They checked for secondary heat sources but did not find any. The cabin crew updated the commander.
As the source of the smoke had been identified and extinguished and the aircraft was now only 20 minutes from landing at Heathrow the commander decided to continue to Heathrow. He made a PAN call to alert ATC and ensure the fire service met the aircraft on landing. He also made an alert call to the cabin crew and gave a NITS briefing
He then made a further announcement to the passengers. One cabin crew member remained in the vicinity of the seat with an extinguisher to hand for the remainder of the flight. The aircraft landed normally at Heathrow.
After landing the fire service boarded the aircraft and removed the device from the seat. There was no damage to the aircraft".
According to Radarbox.com and Simpleflying.com (see link #3) the pilot of G-ZBKF called ATC on the PAN emergency code when the aircraft was near Bristol, Gloucestershire, which is approximately 20 minutes flying time from LHR.
There have been several reports of similar events occurring leading to smoke in the cabin. There are currently no seat design requirements to prevent electronic devices from becoming trapped in seats. Manufacturers and regulators are aware of this issue but it has proven challenging to find a workable solution.
=Safety action taken by EASA=
● The EASA has requested that the SAE International Seat Committee develop design standards and/or recommended practices for the design of seats on commercial air transport aircraft to minimise the chance of portable electronic devices becoming crushed in mechanisms.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB Final Report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/609ce588d3bf7f2886e29fc2/Boeing_787-9_G-ZBKF_05-21.pdf
2. AAIB Annual Safety Review 2021 p.96: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62a1c1b1e90e070396c9f75d/Annual_Safety_Review_2021.pdf
3. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-zbkf#25a607f6
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 29 April 2017 | G-ZBKF | British Airways | 0 | east of Brussels |  |
non |
| Loss of pressurization | ||||||
Media:
G-ZBKF Boeing 787-9 British Airways 19 March 2017, 14:04:
.jpg)
Cabin crew of a Boeing 787-9 (G-ZBKF) saw smoke emanating from a passenger seat. A mobile phone had been crushed in the seat mechanism. The fire was extinguished and there was no damage to the aircraft.
— AAIB (@aaibgovuk) April 19, 2021
Read the AAIB report:https://t.co/XhiPvMBn0x pic.twitter.com/8ESAv80EKW
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jan-2021 12:31 | harro | Added |
| 21-Apr-2021 15:01 | harro | Updated [Cn, Total occupants, Narrative, Accident report] |
| 21-Apr-2021 15:10 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Country, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report] |
| 13-May-2021 15:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 23-Dec-2021 20:59 | harro | Updated [Accident report] |
| 23-Dec-2021 20:59 | harro | Updated [Source] |
| 14-Jun-2022 16:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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