Fire on board the plane

Exercise 6.1 Read and translate the text.

One of the most dangerous accidents on board the plane is a fire. It takes place in approximately 60% of all events.

In aircraft accidents with a fire there is usually a period of about 2 minutes from the beginning of the fire till non – survivable conditions. It means that people either must leave the aircraft or must be evacuated through all available exits in less than this time. Otherwise there will be a lot of fatalities.

But human behaviour in fire is not predicted. In case of danger the passengers have to leave the aircraft in a rapid and orderly manner but sometimes human survival instincts take over. People rush to the available exits, cry and shout, push each other struggling to get out as quickly as possible with little regard for the other ones around them. They sometimes block exits causing a lot of injuries and even death. It is very necessary to take it into account in rapid evacuation of the aircraft.

If fire happens the aircraft will descend. It will not ask for a descent clearance, but it will have to inform the ATC about the beginning of this manoeuvre immediately.

Emergency descent is a procedure for the fastest closing to the ground surface at a maximum permitted rate.

The higher level at which this occurs the more serious the situation is. All the controller can do during this phase of emergency is only to provide safety by turning aircraft out of the way.

And if forced landing follows emergency descent, the controller makes sure that all the available options regarding airfields in the area are given to the crew. The crew uses the oxygen masks. Some planes have oxygen equipment for passengers too.

The controller should not call the crew of the plane until they get a survivable level and are able to talk without the use of oxygen masks. In case when fire is not put out, the plane descends to make a forced landing. After the forced landing the passengers and the crew must be evacuated without any delay.