On June 28, 2008 a 767 Boeing Aircraft owned by ABX Air burst into flames in the parking while the flight crew was waiting to embark on a freight flight from San Francisco, CA to Wilmington, OH (Marcial 9). The aircraft engines were off at the time of the fire outbreak, as the aircraft was being loaded and fuelled, ready for a cargo flight.
At the time of the accident, the plane was parked right next to a loading facility, all the cargo loading was complete, and the door had been closed. A fire broke out next to the cockpit and burned through the top of the fuselage (Hradecky 1). One of the two pilots who was on board at the moment received minor injuries and was rushed to the hospital. Over 100 workers in the adjacent Air Mail facilities were evacuated to safety as the firefighters quickly moved in to contain the fire.
According to the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the accident might have been caused by poor design of the supplemental oxygen system hoses and the absence of clear separation between electrical wiring and electrically conductive oxygen system components (National Transportation Safety Board 10). The absence of clear demarcation between the two components caused a short circuit which breached a combustive oxygen hose, discharging oxygen, and starting a fire in the extra cubicle which then spread to other parts with spread.
The risks posed by the conductive hoses had initially been identified by Boeing and aircraft operators subsequently advised to replace the conductive hoses with non-conductive ones (Maurino 23). Similar accidents can be avoided in the future by adhering to the Federal Aviation Administration’s directive to install nonconductive oxygen hoses.
Works cited
Hradecky, Simon. “Accident: ABX Air Cargo B762 at San Francisco on Jun 28th 2008, on Fire While Parked, No Arson.” The Aviation Herald, 2008.
Marcial, Gene G. "Why ABX Air Is Really Delivering". Bloomberg Businessweek, 2004.
Maurino, Daniel E., et al. Beyond aviation human factors: Safety in high technology systems. 1995.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). “Ground Fire Aboard Cargo Airplane ABX Air Flight 1611, Boeing 767-200 N799AX, San Francisco, California, June 28, 2008.” Airctaft Accident Report Summary, 2009.
