Preliminary report: 4 August 2009
On 10 June 2009 at 1205 Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), an
Airbus Industrie A330-202 aircraft, registered VH-EBF, departed
Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan on a scheduled passenger
transport service to the Gold Coast Airport, Qld., Australia with
182 passengers, 13 cabin crew and four flight crew on board.
At 1523, at approximately 427 km south-west of Guam, the flight
crew noticed a burning rubber smell on the flight deck. At about
that time, two caution messages were displayed to the crew
identifying a fault in the right windshield heating. This was
followed by a loud bang along with a flash of light, followed by
smoke and fire from the bottom right corner of the right
windshield. All flight crew donned oxygen masks, and a crew member
used a BCF extinguisher to extinguish the fire.
The flight crew diverted the aircraft to Agana Airport, Guam,
and reported that no other systems were affected by the fire. At
1614, the aircraft landed at Guam and there were no reported
injuries to any of the passengers or crew.
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Update: 24 March 2011
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is finalising its
investigation into the June 2009 in-flight fire event that occurred
in the cockpit of an Airbus A330 aircraft (registered VH-EBF)
during a scheduled passenger service between Osaka, Japan and Gold
Coast Airport, Queensland, Australia.
As the preliminary report on this incident indicates, the ATSB
has identified the source of the fire to have been an electrical
fault within a terminal block located at the lower right corner of
the cockpit right forward windshield. The terminal block served to
direct electrical power into the windshield's heating circuitry;
ensuring they remain clear and free of ice and fogging that may
otherwise interfere with the pilots' outside visibility.
Terminal block failure
Under the oversight and support of the accredited representative
from the French investigation agency (Bureau d'Enquetes et
d'Analyses pour la securite de l'aviation civile, BEA), the
damaged windshield terminal block was dismantled and examined in
detail at the manufacturer's facilities in France. While the
analysis of the technical findings will be presented in the final
ATSB report, it has been ascertained that the terminal blocks of
certain windshields produced between February 2007 and August 2008
were susceptible to overheating in a manner similar to that
sustained during this occurrence.
Investigation status
The draft report on this investigation is nearing completion and
distribution to directly-involved parties for comment. A final
report should be published during the second quarter of 2011.
However, the following safety actions have already been
initiated:
Aircraft operator
Following the occurrence affecting VH-EBF, the aircraft operator
inspected all windshield terminal block fittings within the
aircraft in its fleet. The inspection centred on identifying any
evidence of thermal effects or localised heating that may be
precursor indications of a similar overheating mechanism. No such
evidence was observed during any of the inspections undertaken.
Aircraft manufacturer
In early 2010 the aircraft manufacturer initiated an ongoing
retrofitting program to remove and replace all suspect aircraft
windshields.
