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Unread 07-30-16, 01:36 PM
Ernie Martin's Avatar
Ernie Martin Ernie Martin is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2002
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In-flight Fire

Two news stories today on this subject. A balloon caught fire in flight, crashed and 16 people died. And a Piper Cheyenne medical plane had a fire on board, crashed and 4 people died.

While unlikely to happen, I think we should all be ready. As a result of a rear-engine problem years ago which might have led to a fire, I did some research which I posted at http://337skymaster.com/messages/showthread.php?t=2876

Here's a short version of that, but please read the full post if you have time:

I’m replacing my powder-type ABC fire extinguisher with a Halon unit. In part because I learned that it is far more effective than my old one and in part because Halon extinguishers are still affordable (small units around $100 online). Operative word here is “still”. Because of environmental issues Halon is no longer manufactured for fire control, and all new extinguishers are filled with reclaimed Halon (typically from large industrial devices); as the supply diminishes, prices will go up, and eventually they won’t be available.

Also, I have bought four smoke emergency masks to try to prevent incapacitation and/or eye impairments, something which happened in many of the accidents. This is a transparent bag with an air filter that fits over your head, with a rubber band making a snug fit around your neck. It filters toxic chemicals and smoke, giving you roughly 15 minutes of air. I opted for the Breath of Life mask sold by Technon online (www.technonllc.com) because of the price ($35 each, or $31.50 with the family discount if you buy four and order by phone) and its tiny size (a 6” by 6” nearly flat foil pouch). This unit does not filter out carbon monoxide (CO) but I deemed it satisfactory for my kind of flying (where I’m typically under 6,500 feet altitude, over water, and can put it down in under 5 minutes). For those of you who fly higher or may want to protect against a longer-burning fire, where the prospects of CO increases, bulkier and more expensive masks that filter out CO and have greater heat resistance can be found at Sporty’s, Aircraft Spruce and elsewhere; one of these for the pilot and several of the ones I bought for passengers may be a sound compromise. Another alternative is an Israeli gas mask with new filter sold by Amazon for $20, but it takes longer to don because the filter needs to be removed from its sealed bag and installed to the mask.


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