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| Date: | Monday 22 January 1996 |
| Time: | c. 06:00 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-436 |
| Owner/operator: | British Airways |
| Registration: | G-BNLA |
| MSN: | 23908/727 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1989 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 359 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | over Abbeville -
 France
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Johannesburg-O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB/FAOR) |
| London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Johannesburg, South Africa to London Heathrow. At
about 0600 hrs, while approaching the Abbeville VOR in the cruise at FL390, the passenger in seat
37K drew the attention of the cabin staff to 'sparks' which were coming from the floor level cabin
conditioning vent, with an acrid burning smell. Two cabin crew were designated the 'fire fighter' and
'communicator'. The adjacent passengers were moved from the immediate area. One BCF
extinguisher was discharged into the vent. The communicator briefed the commander and the
operating first officer went back into the cabin to assess the problem. The off-duty first officer was
alerted and went to the flight deck. At this stage there were no abnormal indications evident on the
flight deck.
The first officer felt the cabin trim panel adjacent to seat 37K, and noted that the hottest point appeared to be about half way up. The forward edge of the panel was levered open a few inches using a crowbar and two BCF extinguishers were discharged into the gap before the panel was re-closed. After a short while the edge of the panel was raised again; no smoke or flames were visible, the smell had abated and the panel was noticeably cooler. One cabin attendant remained in the seat next to the panel to monitor the situation and another took the aisle seat to act as communicator.
The first officer returned to the flight deck and briefed the commander. A 'Pan' call was made to
London ATCC at 0609 hrs. A description of the problem was passed and a priority approach to
London Heathrow was requested. The aircraft was handled expeditiously and established on the
localiser to Runway 09R at 0633 hrs; the surface wind was 050°/13 kt.
The aircraft landed at 0637 hrs and cleared the runway to the right. Contact with the Airport Fire
Service (AFS) on 121.6 MHz was made and, as there appeared to be no immediate danger, the
commander elected to continue to stand T12 and disembark the passengers in the normal manner. As
the aircraft entered the stand area, shortly before the doors had been selected to manual, a member of the cabin staff reported to the flight deck that there was a smell of burning in the rest area, at the rear of the aircraft.
At 0643 hrs, the aircraft was on the stand, Door 5L was opened and fire service personnel came on
board to assess the situation. They decided that there was no immediate threat and remained onboard, awaiting assistance from engineering staff before they made a more thorough inspection. The passengers began to disembark through the normal exit.
By 0700 hrs, most of the passengers had disembarked and the engineers had arrived on board. It was
decided to remove the cabin trim panel and inspect the area behind it. However, as it was removed the electrical loom aft of the window suddenly emitted flames which reached up towards the overhead lockers. The first officer immediately attacked the fire with a BCF extinguisher. He then contacted the flight deck and called for all power to be switched off. The commander made a PA announcement for all non-essential personnel to leave immediately and then shut the aircraft down. The fire was rapidly extinguished and no more problems were experienced once electrical power had been removed.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f4f6ed915d137100054d/Boeing_747-436__G-BNLA_03-96.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6545581 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 10 November 1994 | G-BNLA | British Airways | 0 | near Buenos Aires-Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE/SAEZ) |  |
sub |
| Engine fire | ||||||
| 17 March 1995 | G-BNLA | British Airways | 0 | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) |  |
sub |
| Collision with other aircraft on apron | ||||||
| 25 February 1998 | G-BNLA | British Airways | 0 | Harare-Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE/FVRG) |  |
min |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Aug-2025 21:49 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 09-Aug-2025 21:49 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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