Transport Canada wants US and European regulators to agree action over fire hazards exposed in the Swissair 111 Boeing MD-11 disaster inquiry.
In December the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC) made five recommendations to improve fire detection and suppression in commercial aircraft cabin and cockpit areas, which it said were inadequate.
Transport minister David Collenette says that his department "supports the goals of the [TSBC's] interim recommendations", but adds that since they involve all airliner types, Canada cannot act alone, so it has written to the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Joint Aviation Authorities proposing talks. The FAA has agreed and "a positive response is anticipated from the JAA", says Collenette.
The MD-11 crashed on 2 September 1998, off Nova Scotia, Canada, after a fire started in the aft cockpit roof. The inquiry has yet to release a final report, but an interim release pointed to a lack of fuselage fire detection and suppression equipment in the cabin and cockpit areas in all commercial aircraft. It said that authorities should "review the adequacy of in-flight firefighting as a whole". In the meantime, the TSBC says, checklists and crew training should emphasise the need for a quick diversion and landing in the event of "odour/smoke of unknown origin".
Source: Flight International
