stick & rudder
better pilot
Take the Heat
Fighting aircraft fires
ROBERT N. ROSSIER, EAA 472091
It’s hard to imagine anything more frightening than a fire in the cockpit, or any in-flight fire for that matter. It’s a situation that quickly puts us in
jeopardy, and if we fail to make the right decisions and
follow the proper procedures, the chances of survival
are meager at best. One cornerstone of any pilot
training program is learning to both avoid and deal
with emergencies. That is especially true when it comes
to a fire.
Basic Fire Procedures
Aircraft fires come in a variety of forms. Electrical fires are
perhaps the most common, and they are characterized
by acrid, white smoke in the cockpit or emanating from
the instrument panel. Among the first responses to an
electrical fire is securing all electrical power. Sometimes,
doing so will extinguish the fire. Ventilating the cockpit
may be recommended by the checklist to clear the
smoke and allow the pilot to see and breathe.
Not all white, acrid smoke indicates an electrical fire.
The plastic impregnated scat tubing used for air ducts
also produces white, acrid smoke when heated. For this
reason, emergency checklists may call for the cabin vents
to be closed when smoke is detected in the cockpit.
Engine fires typically generate black, sooty smoke
and flames caused by the combustion of fuel and oil.
Engine fires can become incredibly hot in a short time,
and the intensity can weaken the airframe and cause
structural failure.
In-flight fires are different from most other
emergencies, due to the urgency in getting on the
ground. Handheld extinguishers may not be adequate
to extinguish the fire, if it can be reached. Fires can grow
and spread quickly, incapacitating the pilot or causing
structural failure of the airframe. The objective is to get
down quickly and survive the event. In fact, emergency
To help the pilot maintain visibility
throughout the descent and landing
maneuver, a slip is often recommended.
checklists for engine fires typically recommend
accelerating to a relatively high speed in order to “blow
out” the fire. To help the pilot maintain visibility
throughout the descent and landing maneuver, a slip is
often recommended.
Maintenance Matters
The risk of an aircraft fire is usually quite low, but
problems often arise following modifications and repairs
or when maintenance has been lacking. Consider the
case of the pilot of a Beech BE- 58 departing Jackson,
Mississippi, in June of 2008. The lone pilot initiated
his takeoff roll and was accelerating through about 50
knots when he “heard an ‘explosion’ and could feel a
thud in the rudder pedals.” Then he saw black smoke
rolling out of a hole in the left wing. He stopped the
airplane, then got out and extinguished the fire with an
onboard extinguisher.
An investigation revealed that a fuel vent line had
been improperly secured, allowing fuel vapors to collect
within the interior of the wing. The landing light power
