Description

On 2 July 2021, the augmented flight crew of a Boeing 777-300 (G-STBA) being operated by British Airways on a scheduled international passenger flight from London Heathrow to Mumbai as BA139 was being loaded with hold freight prior to the commencement of passenger boarding when a rear hold fire warning was annunciated in the flight deck. The flight crew responded to it by taking appropriate actions culminating in the precautionary disembarkation of all 16 crew members, the only persons on board during which one of the cabin crew sustained a minor injury. The attending fire service subsequently confirmed that the source of smoke and fumes in the aircraft was a recently loaded cargo container and that no damage had been caused to the aircraft.

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the UK AAIB based on information provided by the aircraft operator and the manufacturer of the cargo container involved. It was noted that the 53 year-old Captain of the flight had a total of 17,000 hours flying experience of which 10,300 hours were on type.