Incident Overview
Description
The Jetstream 41 operated on a round trip between Hawarden and Bristol Airport, U.K. The flight departed Bristol at 08:00 UTC on the return leg to Hawarden. The captain was Pilot Flying. The descent checks and approach briefing for runway 22 had been completed and the aircraft was descending through FL150 to the south of Hawarden when the flight crew started to notice a burning smell. It appeared to them that the smell was coming from the air vents on the flight deck. They donned their oxygen masks and attempted to verify communication between themselves, but found it difficult because of high noise levels coming through the cockpit speakers. The co-pilot declared a MAYDAY to ATC, advising of a burning smell and their intention to continue to land at Hawarden. The commander contacted the cabin crew member on the interphone. She was hardly able to hear his message but understood that they were carrying out an emergency descent and went to check and secure the cabin. When he contacted her again she could not hear any of the message so she entered the flight deck. The commander gave her an emergency briefing, advising her that the aircraft would be landing in 10 minutes and to standby for instructions after landing. The noise levels through the cockpit speaker remained high and when the commander spoke or attempted a transmission there was a strong feedback signal. The approach and landing on runway 22 was completed and the commander taxied the aircraft clear of the runway, turning north onto adjacent taxiway D, and brought it to a stop. He did not know if he could contact the cabin crew member and was uncertain of the conditions in the passenger cabin, so he decided an emergency evacuation should be carried out. He shut down the engines and made a PA announcement to the cabin to initiate the emergency evacuation. After the commander made the evacuation announcement to the cabin, the engines continued to operate at idle power for 8 seconds before they started to run down; the propellers continued turning for a further 40 seconds. The forward cabin door and the two mid-cabin over wing emergency exits were opened by the passengers. The right over wing exit door was dropped to the ground behind the wing and blown forwards by the wind into the still rotating right propeller. The aft cabin exit door was opened by the cabin crew member; it fell to the ground and was blown rearwards by the propeller wash from the right engine. The passengers exited the aircraft and, once they had checked the cabin was clear, the crew followed. There was one minor injury. The burning smell was as a result of smoke and dust carried in the atmosphere from North Africa and Iberia. During 16 and 17 October the AAIB received 32 notifications of Smoke/Fume events affecting aircraft in UK airspace and the UK CAA received in excess of 60 reports. Of the 32 events reported to the AAIB, smoke/fumes were initially detected by flight and cabin crew members at altitudes from between 2,000 ft and FL200.
Primary Cause
High atmospheric conditions, specifically the presence of smoke and dust, likely originating from North Africa and Iberia, contributed to the initial detection of the burning smell by the flight and cabin crew members, leading to the emergency descent and subsequent evacuation.High atmospheric conditions, specifically the presence of smoke and dust, likely originating from North Africa and Iberia, contributed to the initial detection of the burning smell by the flight and cabin crew members, leading to the emergency descent and subsequent evacuation.Share on:
