Description

On 9 February 2023, a Boeing 777-200ER (PH-BQO) operated by KLM on a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Johannesburg as KL591 was in cruise at FL330 with an augmented crew when the cabin crew reported smoke from one of the ovens. The junior purser was nearby and took control, discharging the contents of six fire extinguishers around and then inside the oven before the smoke/fumes ceased. It was decided that with three of the cabin crew and twelve of the passengers experiencing breathing difficulties, a return to Amsterdam was appropriate and was completed without further event. The passengers and crew suffering from the aftermath of fumes/smoke exposure were treated, and damage to the oven was found to be internal only.

The overheated oven minus its insert and trays. [Reproduced from the Official Report}