A-320 engine fire

A-320 engine fire during maintenance run. Extinguished by following proper fire drill procedure.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• aircraft
• engine
• fire

[whalleywo]

T-handle out was the fire switch being released, closing the fuel spar valve, hydraulic shut-off valve, closing pneumatic shut-off valve (PRV) and arming and directing both fire bottles to the affected engine.

Fuel pumps are off. APU bleed off. further isolating air and fuel from the engine.

Fire bottle number 1

First bottle was fired and the chrono was started to time the 30 seconds wait before the second bottle is fired.

[whalleywo]

In regards to how he fought the fire, you can see that the thrust lever is at idle. The first action was to shutdown the engine (master switch was placed to off). If you listen and watch, everything else was done accordingly.

[whalleywo]

In Maintenance, a fire drill is reviewed just prior to first engine start as standard procedure. The intent is to fighting a fire with no time wasted.

The flaw in relying on check lists for all emergencies explains why a US Airways Airbus A320 crash landed in New York's Hudson River with the Ditching Valve switch not selected closed. Three big opening allowed water to fill the aircraft eventually causing it to sink.

[gescoboza]

i don't think he has it memorized, in my opinion he's just reading the engine performance directly from the display. And if he did follow a checklist, i find it weird he didn't silent the alarm and executed such a poor procedure for an expensive aircraft like this one. But thats just me.....

[whalleywo]

Aside from not cancelling the bell, I think that he covered the fire drill very well and no time was wasted.

Hes not using a check list. He was simply reviewing the after-start engine parameters when the fire bell sounded. In the event of an actual fire on the ground, the fire drill is done from memory and for good reason. Pilots would do it from a check list but thats another story.

[asdfghjklsaab]

@njebarr organized. It's not whether or not one is better than the other. Neither one is. But I want to be in control of the aircraft, not have computers manage it for me. My three problems with the Airbus are the sidestick, the cockpit layout, and the control input. In the Airbus, your inputs go straight to the computers, which deem whether or not your action should be carried through. The pilot's input in a Boeing goes straight to the Ailerons.

[asdfghjklsaab]

@njebarr Fair enough, but again, it's really personal opinion and what your airline flys. I prefer the 737, as I feel the gauges are organized well and I think the flight characteristics are superior to that of the Airbus's. You prefer the A320 because from what you hear, it's the industry standard, you like how the cockpit is organized, and you think the flight characteristics are superior to that of the Boeing. It's really personal preference, and how you think the cockpit should be-

[njebarr]

@asdfghjklsaab ok, while it is possible, it is uncommon. However I have no idea why we've gone off onto this tangent! All I'm saying is that the pilots I have spoken to who have flown both usually prefer the a320. As it happens I have recently taken a job flying for easyjet so I am about to start my type rating on the a320 family, I try to stay unbiased and as such I am only reporting what others in the industry have told me.

[asdfghjklsaab]

@njebarr I realize this, but I said it's unlikely that someone would have two licenses for different planes at the same times. Airlines only allow one plane license at a time.

[njebarr]

@asdfghjklsaab not at all, for example easyjet used to have 737s but these have been phased out and replaced with A320s. Currently at CTC in Southampton some easy 737 pilots are carrying out a type rating on the airbus. In the length of a pilot's career its is very very likely that they will fly several types of aircraft. 737s and A320s are two of the most common types of airliner!

[asdfghjklsaab]

@njebarr Sorry to be harsh.. It's really just a debate over which plane's flight characteristics you like more, or whatever airline you fly for's fleet.

[asdfghjklsaab]

@njebarr It's called a 737.

[asdfghjklsaab]

@njebarr So you're saying that they had licenses for both, knew all the flight mechanics, and knew all gauge mappings? Highly unlikely.

[ikolkyo967]

@njebarr Acually i like the 737 better in all spes

[njebarr]

@ikolkyo967 I'm not having a go at you for having an opinion, I'm trying to start a lively debate about why you have formed those opinions. So far you seem to think the 73 is better because it has bigger screens.