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| Date: | Saturday 3 September 1994 |
| Time: | 01:20 LT |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas MD-83 |
| Owner/operator: | Airtours International Airways |
| Registration: | G-DCAC |
| MSN: | 49935/1773 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Engine model: | P&W JT8D-200 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 173 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | near Manchester -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Manchester International Airport (MAN/EGCC) |
| Ibiza Airport (IBZ/LEIB) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft departed Manchester Airport at 0020 hrs for Ibiza. In the climb passing FL160 the cabin
supervisor informed the commander that there was a rear galley oven fire which was being dealt with
by the cabin crew. The flight crew made a 'PAN' call to Manchester ATC and the aircraft was given
radar vectors for an immediate recovery to Manchester. Airport emergency services were put on full
alert to await the arrival of the aircraft onto Runway 06.
During the approach the commander was informed that the fire had been extinguished and that the
electrical supply to the rear galley had been removed. During the later stages of the approach,
however, a strong smell of electrical burning became apparent and smoke re-appeared. Immediately
the aircraft had landed a cabin attendant, seated at the rear on the isle jump seat, collected a BCF fire extinguisher and successfully attacked the source of the smoke which was again emanating from the oven. In doing so she became partially incapacitated by the smoke and fumes. A second cabin crew member, carrying a 'Drager Oxycrew' protective breathing hood, had by now joined her but neither crew member was able to remove the hood from its packaging.
The commander and cabin supervisor were not aware that there had been a further problem with the
rear galley. On stopping the aircraft the commander, in accordance with company Standard Operating
Procedures, instructed the passengers to remain seated. He then ordered the cabin crew to open the
doors and lower the aircraft stairs. A senior airport fire officer boarded the aircraft, appraised the
situation and requested that the passengers be disembarked. This was carried out via the normal exits
in an orderly manner.
After the incident the galley was inspected by engineers and the company flight safety officer. No
evidence was found of electrical fire or damage to the oven unit. Subsequent examination of the oven
insert, used for the pre-loading of frozen meal trays, showed that it was heavily contaminated with a
layer of burnt food and it was considered that the smoke was caused by direct heating of this
contamination in the course of normal oven operations. As the meals already loaded in the insert
showed no sign of leaking it was considered that the contamination had occurred on a pervious
occasion and had not been cleaned from the insert during the pre-flight preparation.
Investigation of the 'Drager Oxycrew' equipment revealed that there was no defect in the equipment
packaging. After a subsequent crew de-brief, however, it was determined that the method used to
open the sealed bag container was incorrect and resulted in a tear along a seam becoming increasingly difficult to manipulate.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f2d640f0b61346000477/DC-9-83__MD-83___G-DCAC_10-94.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/90224 (Photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-May-2025 15:49 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 24-May-2025 15:50 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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