Airbus A330


TYPE : ?

NUMBER / ORIGIN / DATE : 001 / E-mail / 300197 (Copy to A340)

REPORTED x 2

My colleages and I are worried about a series of ground fires that have recently taken place, and would appreciate any ideas to prevent further incidents.
The fire we are talking about is a very serious fire that apparently always starts in the Hydraulic bay between the main gear and the AC packs.
I know for a fact that all the airlines operating the 340 and 330 have had orders (AI AD 21-01) to disconnect the Green Blue and Yellow electrical pumps, since Airbus Industries believes that the origin of the fire starts from the electrical pumps. As usual Airbus is not forthcoming with information, and we are a sort of left in the dark.
I also know of several incidents concerning these fires, the last one being a MAS 330 in Singapore. I had a look at the AC and it was not a pretty sight.
The fire had gone straight through the fuselage and did an awful lot of damage to the hydraulic pumps ( Electric) and fuselage support brackets.
Operating the 340 myself I would like to know a lot more about these fires and also be much better informed about the cause or probable cause.
It needs no explanation that such a fire inflight, with no fire detection or suppression system in that area will have catastrophical consequences.

ANOTHER REPORT RECEIVED E-mail / 050297

I too operate the A340, and it seems that AI still wants to believe that the sole reason is the overheating of the pump it self. The strange thing is that this pump was not used on ground Singapore ( that is at least what maintenance claims but we know sometimes better) . AI has now instructed that not only are the C/B's pulled, they also remove the canon plugs from the pumps. ( All three: Green, Yellow and Blue).
The thing that worries me and a lot of other people is that these pumps are placed right behind the A/C packs, and when you do a walk around on ground in a station where there is a great demand on the packs ( e.g. Singapore ) You will realize that the temperature of the air leaving the packs is incredible hot. Your normal gut feel about mechanics tells you that this temperature is far too high. A lot of maintenance people believe that this might be the real reason of the fires, and this might explain that these fires normally started at higher outside temperatures. ( Air Lanka, Air Mauritius, MAS.) when the AC was on the ground with no Ram air cooling available and a high demand on the AC pack.



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