French investigators probing a fatal EgyptAir Airbus A320 crash in May 2016 have highlighted the potential risk of smoking in the cockpit, even though they could not establish whether a lit cigarette sparked an oxygen-fuelled fire on the jet.
Investigation authority BEA has recommended that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency consider the possible danger presented by a lit cigarette and, if necessary, amend operational and certification regulations.
Smoking on board aircraft has long been prohibited by the majority of operators. But BEA says international regulations are “not explicit” about banning smoking in the cockpit.
“While there are warnings about smoking near oxygen in the passenger compartment, there are no similar warnings with respect to the cockpit,” it states. “The decision seems to rest with the captain.”
BEA believes the leak, and ignition, of concentrated oxygen in the A320’s cockpit caused an intense fire which the crew was unable to extinguish, subsequently leading to a loss of control. The aircraft, which had been cruising at 37,000ft, descended and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, with no survivors among the 66 occupants.
Two pilots and a flight attendant were in the cockpit when the blaze broke out. The inquiry has not been able to determine – or rule out – whether any crew member was smoking.
BEA adds that a series of ignition tests “do not suggest” that a lit cigarette contributed to the accident sequence.
But it points out that analysis of a prior accident – involving a Corendon Airlines Boeing 737-800 on the ground at Antalya in October 2012 – indicates the captain had lit a cigarette about 2min before an oxygen leak began on the captain’s side.
A fire broke out and spread after the captain opened the mask storage box, intending to tackle the blaze. But the fire rapidly escalated and the aircraft was evacuated.
While “no systematic and obvious danger” has been established from smoking near an oxygen-mask storage box, says BEA, the 737 investigation revealed a “possible fragility” created by smoking near a mask left in the ‘emergency’ position.
