Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
(OP)
On Tuesday 11/09 the cabin of 787 #2 filled with smoke and flames were seen in an aft EE bay. Some instrument displays in the cockpit went out and some flight controls. The RAT system deployed.
Would anyone want to guess at the cause before Boeing tells the public?
Would anyone want to guess at the cause before Boeing tells the public?





RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Not many commercial aircraft can do that and almost no aircraft could put out a contrail at sea level in 70°F weather.
TTFN
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RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
But a fault in a load not being cleared by aircraft electrical protection systems progressing to the point that the RAT is deployed and avionics systems are affected is serious. Its possible that someone tied test equipment to a buss ahead of some branch circuit protection. If so, someone is losing a job. But if this reveals a problem in the electrical system design .... big trouble ahead (the 747-400 EPS fiasco comes to mind).
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
My club had a Grob glider that had been stored wings off over the winter. On it's first flight in the spring the PIC noted that he had to apply some aileron to keep the wings level, and commented on a peculiar odor.
Further investigation revealed that a squirrel had made a winter home inside the wing, but hadn't survived the winter.
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
(As told to me by one of the guys on that aircraft.)
B.E.
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Write that down.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Any more thoughts? (other than squirrels and missiles)
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Link to the story?
Second (or third) hand information isn't worth much, particularly when it has been filtered through non-technical news staffs. I'd tend to believe Av Week a bit more than the local talking heads.
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Until we find out why and what - it is all conjecture.
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Further complicating ZA002's return to testing is the damage sustained during the fire, which included dripping of molten metal onto the system wiring and internal fuselage structure, which program sources say is driving Boeing's inspection of the area surrounding the P100 panel to "determine if other repairs will be necessary."
"As part of our investigation," says Boeing, "We will conduct a detailed inspection of the panel and insulation material to determine if they enhance our understanding of the incident."
"In addition, we are determining the appropriate steps required to return the rest of the flight test fleet to flying status."
Boeing is continuing to investigate the fire and determine any impact to "the overall program schedule" as it reviews data collected from the incident.
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
h
seems to rule out flight test equipment. The contactors involved are production parts. So some analysis of the failure will have to be done to determine why it wasn't picked up by protection systems (overcurrent, differential protection, or arc fault detection).
Back to the drawing board.
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
"To implement differential current fault protection of main power contactors when designing future electrical systems"
Huh? Back in my days on the 767, 747, and 737 power systems, we had differential protection zones out to the primary load buss breakes and overlapping zones covering the GCB and BTBs. What happened? Did someone decide it was a good idea to eliminate it?
Arcing faults often do not reach overcurrent protection trip levels. As a result, faults can often persist for seconds, or minutes. Spraying molten metal all the while. Either differential or arc fault detaction schemes are the only reliable way to deal with such faults.
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?
Always something dumb like that!! I had my keys in my pocket with a couple of batteries I was taking to get replaced and sure enough - it got real hot and took me a second to figure out what the H#$$ll was going on...
I bet some mechanics are counting their tools!!
RE: Fire on 787 during test. Any thoughts on cause?