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| Date: | Sunday 4 January 1998 |
| Time: | 09:07 |
| Type: |  BAC One-Eleven 501EX |
| Owner/operator: | British Airways, opb Maersk Air |
| Registration: | G-AWYS |
| MSN: | 175 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1969 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 92 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | Near Liverpool -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Belfast International Airport (BFS/EGAA) |
| Birmingham Airport (BHX/EGBB) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During a flight from Belfast to Birmingham, the flight crew heard a series of 'popping' sounds and observed smoke coming from the 'hat-rack' stowage area behind the commander's seat. The senior cabin attendant (SCA) pulled the oven circuit breaker and went onto the flight deck to investigate. She saw an orange flame at the rear of the lower shelf on which were stowed the pilots' smoke hoods, and fired a short burst of BCF extinguishant into the area.This extinguished the flame, but it subsequently re-ignited and two additional bursts of BCF were needed to finally put the fire out. The SCA, who had inhaled both smoke and BCF fumes, then removed the two smoke hood boxes, encountering some difficulty in unfastening the associated securing straps. She then returned aft in order to clear and secure the cabin, during which the passengers remained calm.
After closing the flight deck door, the flight crew donned their oxygen masks and transmitted a 'Mayday' call declaring their intention to divert into Liverpool. The appropriate smoke/fire drills were completed and the aircraft made an uneventful landing after receiving ATC assistance, which the commander later described as "excellent".
After the aircraft had been shut down, firemen retrieved a small oxygen mask pouch, made from a padded plastic material, from behind an electrical relay panel located at the rear of the lower stowage shelf. It was apparent that the pouch had fallen into this area through a one inch gap at the rear of the top shelf. Two burnt patches were visible on the pouch which, by their shape, appeared to have resulted from contact with two cables that were connected to pins on one of the adjacent relays. The insulation on the two cables was locally charred, and there was some 'sooting' evident on the neighbouring cables. The two damaged cables were tied back and the associated relay, which controlled the cabin sidewall lighting, was removed. The aircraft was then recovered to the operator’s maintenance base at Birmingham for a more detailed investigation.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ef9fed915d1371000279/dft_avsafety_pdf_500832.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/8836077 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 19 July 1972 | G-AWYS | British Caledonian Airways | 1 | Kerkyra Airport (CFU) |  |
sub |
| 9 May 1996 | G-AWYS | British Airways, opb Maersk Air | 0 | Near Moulins VOR |  |
non |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Apr-2025 18:51 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 03-Apr-2025 18:52 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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