ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 367540
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Friday 5 April 2019 |
| Time: | 05:46 UTC |
| Type: |  Dassault Falcon 900B |
| Owner/operator: | Zenith Air CC |
| Registration: | ZS-DFJ |
| MSN: | 141 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1994 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5211 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | 50 nm SE of Victoria Falls Airport -
 Zimbabwe
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Harare-Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE/FVRG) |
| Victoria Falls Airport (VFA/FVFA) | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The Dassault Falcon 900B, ZS-DFJ, departed Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (FVRG) in Harare, Zimbabwe, on an unscheduled charter flight to Victoria Falls International Airport (FVFA) in Zimbabwe. On-board the aircraft were two crew members and eight passengers.
The aircraft reached a cruising altitude of 38 000 feet (FL380) en-route to FVFA. At approximately 60 nautical miles (nm) from FVFA, the crew commenced with the descent. While passing through FL250, the pilot-in-command, who was seated on the left seat, reported that his Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI), Electronic Attitude Direction Indicator (EADI) and Multi-Function Display (MFD) started to blink and then went blank. This was followed by various warning lights on the “master caution” panel. Shortly after this, the First Officer (FO) noticed smoke entering the flight deck through the roof lining above the right-hand flight deck window. The flight crew immediately donned their oxygen masks and carried out the necessary checklists from the aircraft flight manual (AFM) regarding electrical smoke or fire. The FO declared an emergency and broadcasted a Mayday call to FVFA tower frequency. The aircraft was given priority and cleared for a straight-in approach for Runway 30. The crew expedited the descent and, while passing FL190, the smoke began to dissipate. When passing through FL140, the crew removed their oxygen masks and prepared the aircraft for the approach. The FVFA Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting (ARFF) services were ready for the aircraft and positioned themselves next to the runway. The aircraft landed safely at 0602Z and taxied to the apron where the occupants disembarked normally. The aircraft sustained damage to a wiring loom that had burnt in the ceiling of the flight deck, as well as excessive heat damage to a ceiling panel above the wire loom. The operator had done a modification by installing an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system on 30 August 2018 and that required an additional wire to be added to the loom rooting to the circuit breaker panel. The last maintenance conducted in this area of the burnt loom was during the last C check on 8 November 2018 which was a visual inspection. None of the occupants sustained any injuries during the incident sequence.
The investigation revealed that during the modification which required cable be threaded on to the wiring loom secured by a clamp, it is likely that when the wire was threaded through the clamp, the wire insulation was inadvertently damaged due to the clamp not being opened, and the open damaged wire started to arc on the clamp causing high temperature which resulted on the smoke in the flight deck, multiple system failure.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
CAASA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Mar-2024 15:32 | ASN | Added |
| 22-Mar-2024 15:34 | ASN | Updated [Cn, Location, Country] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation