AIR TRANSPORT
18 | Flight International | 18-31 August 2015 flightglobal.com
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flightglobal.com/dashboardSAFETY DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
Fire source unclear in Asiana crash
Korean investigation details 747-400 freighter’s last moments off Jeju, saying blaze probably began in aft main deck
K
orean investigators have been
unable to determine the ori-
gin of the fire which brought
down an Asiana Airlines Boeing
747-400 freighter off Jeju.
But the inquiry believes it start-
ed in the vicinity of two pallets,
loaded in the aft main deck, which
were carrying dangerous goods.
The blaze spread “rapidly”,
says Korean investigation author-
ity ARAIB, and could not be sup-
pressed.
Control over the flight deterio-
rated and neither of the two crew
members survived after the air-
craft – operating from Seoul to
Shanghai on 28 July 2011 –
crashed into the sea.
While the precise cause of the
fire could not be established, the
inquiry points out that two pal-
lets close to the rear freight door
had been carrying lithium-ion
batteries as well as highly-flam-
mable and corrosive liquids.
Just 3min after the flight was
handed from Incheon to Shang-
hai area control, the crew re-
quested an emergency descent
from 34,000ft to 10,000ft, citing a
main-deck fire.
Data relayed by the ACARS
communication system on the
747 shows that the initial fire
alert was triggered in main deck
zone 11, just ahead of the rear
freight door.
Several more alerts were trans-
mitted, from other fire sensors in
the main deck, over the next 2min.
The ACARS data also indicates
that multiple aircraft systems
began to fail in quick succession.
Within 5min of the emergency
declaration the system recorded
alerts for flight-control systems,
the satcom data unit, air condi-tioning packs, yaw damper and
the auxiliary power unit.
This system deterioration con-
tinued and control of the crippled
747 ebbed away from the crew.
Critical flight systems were lost
and the pilots – who said the air-
craft was shaking “violently” –
were unable maintain altitude.
The crew told Jeju approach con-trol they were going to attempt a
ditching, but there was no more
contact.
Following a partial mid-air fu-
selage break-up, wreckage was
found underwater at a depth of
around 85m over an area of 3km
by 4km.
Flight data and cockpit voice
recorders were not recovered. ■The freighter was carrying lithium-ion batteries among its cargoAirTeamImages