arcing event and fire would be controllable because they would be able to shut off electricity to it. unfortunately, in the case of swiss air 111, they were unable to do that. wear and tear on the entertainment system wiring created an opening that allowed electricity to jump out. an arcing event. the arc occurred right next to the wires that powered the flight deck s most crucial equipment, setting off a fire that spread across the cockpit attic, burning through the ceiling. the situation in the final few minutes of flight was catastrophic. the airplane s full of smoke. there is evidence of molten aluminum that s being rained down from the fire overhead. the electrical systems are failing.
investigators immediately suspect an arcing event. the electricity that is flowing through a wire as, over time, insulation can chaffe, crack. and these cracks allow the electricity to not flow down the wire path as it s supposed to, but to jump to a part of the frame of the airplane or to another wire that might be exposed. the lavatory motor is small but carries a lot of power. weight on an airplane is something you try to keep to an absolute minimum. one of the ways that we do that in aircraft is to utilize very small, but very powerful electric motors so that a very small motor can get three boosts of electricity, as it winds around. the motor inside the lavatory is much stronger than a household current.
into the cockpit, drawing power from the same source as the flight controls. under normal conditions, an in-flight entertainment system arcing event and fire would be controllable because they would be able to shut off electricity to it. unfortunately, in the case of swiss air 111, they were unable to do that. wear and tear on the entertainment system wiring created an opening that allowed electricity to jump out. an arcing event. the arc occurred right next to the wires that powered the flight deck s most crucial equipment, setting off a fire that spread across the cockpit attic, burning through the ceiling. the situation in the final few minutes of flight was catastrophic. the airplane s full of smoke. there is evidence of molten aluminum that s being rained down from the fire overhead. the electrical systems are failing. one by one, everything that they need to keep the airplane in flight is failing. they finally lose control of the airplane, and it rolls towards
near noef nova scotia just minutes after the crew reports mo smoke in the cockpit. in a search to find out has went wrong, investigators discover that a common aircraft insulation material is a fire hazard. thousands are planes are fitted with new insulation. and florida amount re-evaluated. but they still don t know how the fire started, and if other aircraft are at risk. when we started to look for potential ignition sources the very first thing that comes to mind is aircraft wiring. the investigators scour more than 150 miles of wiring for signs of an electrical malfunction called arcing. arcing events are when electricity jumps from a wire to another piece of metal. it can be another wire or a part of the airplane or something else. when it does that it can create tremendous amount of heat. finding an arcing event is difficult and determining if one preceded another is nearly
controllable because they would be able to shut off electricity to it. unfortunately, in the case of swiss air 111, they were unable to do that. wear and tear on the entertainment system wiring created an opening that allowed electricity to jump out. an arcing event. the arc occurred right next to the wires that powered the flight deck s most crucial equipment setting off a fire that spread across the cockpit attic, burning through the ceiling. the situation in the final few minutes of flight was catastrophic. the airplane s full of smoke. there is evidence of molten aluminum rained down overhead. the electrical system are failing. one by one, everything that they need to keep the airplane in flight is failing. they finally lose control of the airplane, and it rolls towards the ocean and accelerates and