A fire or smoke in an aircraft is an incredibly dangerous situation, especially if it occurs during flight. Due to the confined spaces and pressure differentials, fire can spread rapidly throughout the aircraft, which can lead to loss of control, structural damage, and most importantly, human casualties.
Today, we will look at the types of these phenomena and ways to combat them.

Reality shows that an open flame is much less dangerous than the smoke it produces. To gain a deeper understanding of this topic, let's consider the main negative factors associated with it:

In-flight fires require immediate decision-making for landing. The crew (both in the cockpit and in the cabin) of each type of aircraft and each airline has its own clear procedures in case of an in-flight fire. Flight attendants try to extinguish the fire themselves, move people from the smoke-filled part of the aircraft, and prepare passengers for immediate landing.

Pilots perform all Memory Items (actions in case of an emergency situation that need to be performed by memory) and, according to the company's and aircraft manufacturer's procedures, perform necessary procedures for activating extinguishing systems or minimizing the risk of fire spread.

But ultimately, during flight, there is often no way to fully confirm that the fire has been extinguished. Without such confirmation, it is not safe to continue flying, so all instructions for such situations end with one thing - pilots must land as quickly as possible at the nearest suitable airport.

For this reason, aircraft crews are recommended to request weather information throughout the flight and be informed about surrounding airports so that they can quickly and safely approach and land if necessary.

After landing, there is another serious challenge - evacuation. This can be one of the most difficult things, and often people can receive serious injuries at this stage. However, if flight attendants' instructions are followed correctly, even this difficult stage can be completed without problems.

In recent articles, we have discussed various weather phenomena - and although mountain waves along with clear-air turbulence represent a significant danger to flights, fire is much more frightening. In case of a fire or smoke on an airplane in the air, the crew has very little time to prevent casualties - the clock is literally ticking by the minute.

That is why on every semi-annual simulator test, pilots must practice actions in case of a fire, including one that cannot be extinguished. These exercises hone skills that will allow them to correctly and quickly perform all procedures in the most difficult situation, land the aircraft as quickly as possible, and safely evacuate passengers.

In this article, we have only considered general cases and methods of dealing with them because each airline and aircraft manufacturer develops its own recommendations. For general development, I recommend familiarizing yourself with some of the basic works on the topic - links will be provided at the end of the article.

Fly safely :)

Name of article: Fire and smoke in the air
Release date: 11/24/2023
Acrticle author: Nikita Pavlov
Sources: click, click, click, click