for the first time in decades, he is back in the cockpit of a dc-9 at the canada aviation and space museum in ottawa. the breakers are connected to the lavatory in the back of the plane. once they pop out, they cut the flow of electricity to the lavatory motor. the crew responded to that appropriately. there was a problem there and they left the circuit breakers then extended or popped so that it would deprive power to that component, eliminate anything potential future problem. unfortunately, flight 797 s problems are just beginning. i think it was about an hour and a half into the flight that there was some commotion in the back of the plane. i remember seeing one of the flight attendants take a fire extinguisher to the back. rumors began going around in the plane that there might be a fire in the trash can, that somebody might have put a cigarette out in the trash.
dallas to toronto when the cabin and cockpit are suddenly filled with toxic smoke. the electrical systems shut down making it nearly impossible to control the plane. the captain was faced with an unbelievably difficult task. barely able to see through the thick smoke, the pilot tries to get the plane back on the ground. but passengers are already succumbing to smoke inhalation. june 2nd, 1983, air canada flight 797 has a normal takeoff and climb to cruising altitude. but about 2 1/2 hours into the journey, the plane experiences an electrical malfunction. i looked at the breaker. it was out. we were allowed one reset. so i pushed it. but it didn t move so i didn t occur that a reset. captain dawn cameron was at the controls that day. just like old days.
missing. the strip was a reinforcement that came loose when the plane took off shortly before the concorde. investigators are confident they have identified a crucial part of the accident s sequence. but the question remains, how could a damaged tire lead to a fatal crash? greg feith is a crash investigator and a former consultant to continental airlines on a unrelated case. at speeds of up to 100 miles an hour, when that tire blew out after strike that piece of metal it turned to shrapnel. and those small and large fragments of rubber started to strike the bottom of the aircraft. the rubber strikes the under side of the wing. behind the skin of that wing is a huge fuel tank. and these chunks of rubber hit the bottom of the fuel tank. even though it didn t breach the fuel tank it sent shockwaves that over pressured the tank. the shock wave created an over pressure system. it s basically expanding in the tank. it blows it from inside out,
it s a good decision to get the airplane as light as you can. it s easier on the airplane. but delaying the landing could put the flight in even more danger. the passengers have been told they are being diverted, but there is no smoke in the cabin and they have no idea that inside the cockpit, something is going horribly wrong. following the smoke checklist, the pilot shut off power to the cabin. if there is an electrical fire, this could cut power to the source. but the smoke only gets thicker. then the autopilot fails. flying the plane by hand in the dark, the pilots put on their oxygen masks. at this point, they knew they had a very serious situation. and they need it on the ground as rapidly as possible. as soon as they were over the water was when i suggested that they could commence their fuel dump. and that was also the time, unknown to me, that the aircraft began experiencing a series of
is forced to re-evaluate the procedures for in-flight fires. flammability testing becomes more rigorous. insulation blankets are manufactured for more flame resistant materials, and the certification and maintenance of wiring becomes more stringent. swiss air 111 is a watershed event in how pilots deal with in-flight smoke conditions. after that pilots recognized how quickly things could go wrong. what makes fire such a lethal threat to aircraft is its ability to start and grow undetected. in some cases, the interiors of the plane. a fire that starts outside can be just as catastrophic. charles de gaulle airport, paris. the world s only supersonic passenger jet speeds down the runway at 175 miles per hour.