F100, Nuremburg Germany, 2015

F100, Nuremburg Germany, 2015

Summary

On 20 January 2015, The APU of a Fokker 100 being routinely de-iced prior to departing Nuremburg oversped as a result of the ignition of ingested de-icing fluid in the APU. This led to its explosive uncontained failure as the result of which ejected debris entered the aft cabin and smoke occurred. No occupants were injured and all were promptly disembarked. The Investigation found that the de-icing contractor involved had not followed manufacturer-issued aircraft-specific de-icing procedures and in the continued absence of any applicable safety regulatory oversight of ground de-icing activity, corresponding Safety Recommendations were made.

Description

On 20 January 2015, a Fokker 100 being operated by Helvetic Airways was being de-iced prior to departure on a passenger flight from Nuremburg to an unrecorded destination in normal day visibility with the APU running when the Type 1 de-icing fluid being used entered the APU air intake. A loud explosion which ruptured the APU followed and a piece of ejected debris accompanied by an “explosive flame” hit and penetrated the aft passenger cabin and “smoke” occurred. There were no occupant injuries as a result but the aircraft sustained “severe” damage.

The destroyed APU. [Reproduced from the Official Report]

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation. Data from the FDR and the CVR were made available to the Investigation but were not used to determine the cause of events.

It was noted that both members of the flight crew had obtained the majority of their flying experience on type - 4,387 hours out of 5,580 hours in the case of the 33 year-old Captain and 2,570 hours out of 2,970 hours in the case of the 37 year-old First Officer.

The full content of this page is available to registered users only.
Please Log in or Register

SKYbrary Partners:

Safety knowledge contributed by: