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| Date: | Monday 8 May 1995 |
| Time: | 08:45 |
| Type: |  Boeing 767-223ER |
| Owner/operator: | American Airlines |
| Registration: | N332AA |
| MSN: | 22331/168 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1987 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 154 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | 25 NM Southeast of Benbecula -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Chicago O’Hare International Airport, IL (ORD/KORD) |
| Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS/EDDL) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
As the aircraft crossed the west coast of Scotland en route from Chicago to Dusseldorf, an 'electrical burning' smell was experienced on the flight deck. The crew donned oxygen masks and smoke goggles and, having reported smoke on the flight deck and declared a full emergency, diverted to Glasgow. The commander reported that the symptoms improved slightly when the right-hand generator was taken off-line. The aircraft landed safely at Glasgow, and the passengers were all disembarked normally.
Upon boarding the aircraft at Glasgow, maintenance personnel found it to be free of visible smoke but they did note a smell of burning in the cockpit, most notably in the area forward of the instrument panel. The instrument panel and surrounding area was checked visually for indications of overheating, but nothing abnormal was found. The residual smell quickly dissipated, frustrating further efforts to locate the source.
The aircraft was test flown to London Heathrow with maintenance personnel on board. During this flight, numerous functional checks of electrical components and systems were carried out in an effort to reproduce the symptoms. No smoke or unusual smells could be detected at any stage. Upon arrival at Heathrow, further checks were carried out but again nothing abnormal could be found. As a precaution, the forward instrument panel lighting dimmer unit was changed and the aircraft ferried back to the operator's maintenance base in Chicago for further investigation, again with maintenance personnel on board; this flight also passed without incident and no unusual smells or smoke were reported.
Extensive checks of the aircraft at Chicago failed to identify the source of the problem. As a precaution, the main battery charger was replaced, together with all of the instrument panel dimmer units and the aircraft was then returned to service. No reports of smoke or burning smells were received subsequently. However, approximately one week later, the forward equipment cooling fan failed after frequent tripping of the associated circuit breaker. This fan supplies cooling air to the region forward of the instrument panels and was reported to have been 'warm to the touch' during the post-incident checks.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f3dfed915d13710004b7/Boeing_767-200ER__N332AA_07-95.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/8011272 (Photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Mar-2025 08:43 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 28-Mar-2025 08:44 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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