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Subscribe to RSSA US Airways jet briefly caught fire on Monday evening at its gate in the Phoenix airport. No injuries were reported.
The fire started at 10:55 p.m. ET in the plane’s auxiliary power unit – a small motor that provides power to the aircraft when the engines are not running.
Two pilots and three flights attendants were on board when they noticed a problem to the rear. The Phoenix Fire Department was then called to investigate a fuel leak, Phoenix Fire Department public information officer Jonathan Jacobs told NBC News.
Fire crews found a small blaze at the back of the jet and quickly sprayed the plane with foam.
There were no passengers on board the Vancouver, Canada-bound jet at the time, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport spokeswoman Kris Commerford told The Associated Press. The plane had arrived earlier in the day from California.
The flight's 101 passengers were put on a different US Airways flight, scheduled to leave two hours later.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Good thing no passengers were on board. Who knows, they might have had to pay extra for the foam used. I don't know how excited I would have been to get on the exact same type of plane after the fire on the other one. Yeah, I know, the odds of another problem would be like winning over half a billion dollar lottery. But weird things do happen in life.That is why they are called accidents. Or human mistakes, mechanical problems, or unknown and just best guesses and never discovered.
So tell us what type of vehicle you drive because I did not realize that there was a single type that had not been in one accident or had anything at all break on it. Same thing as you worrying about an airplane in the way you have. You can inspect something every day or multiple times a day, but nothing is for sure. Do you look at belts on your car every day? You do realize that they can look perfectly normal and still break don't you? Or you can get a faulty one from the factory even. Run scared if you want, but I'll not worry.
my neighbor ( back in the day when i was a mere youngster ) , had one ....his name was Fred. and come to think on it , so did his neighbor on the other side, it was a different model yet it didn't give him any trouble either, as i recall his name was Barney , but the ol memory isn't what it once was so i guess i could be wrong.
Merry Christmas.
What do you know about planes to make that judgement?
I think we need to ban auxiliary power units on planes. It appears they could possibly kill people.
Real original humor there, Chris!
Because auxiliary power units kill thousands of people every year, right?
Ok Chris, Ban the A.P.U.'s on all the planes, and when were sitting on the plane when its freezing cold, or 110 degrees, we'll have you to thank for making our lives safer. Next we'll ban the jet engines, because they could malfunction and cause a fire. Next we'll ban commercial jet service because people die in plane crashes every year. Next we'll get rid of the automobile, because even more people die per year then in plane crashes.
Chris, you must run for senate, you are sssooooo smart, you can make this a better place!
Shame on you! Linking this to the murder of children
Not humor mark, liberals' logic.
Your a moron Chris
The auxillary power unit, typically located at the tail fuselage section, is a small turbine engine used to generate the electrical power necessary to operate the various electrical motors and the hydraulic system when the main jet engines are intentionally or unintentionally shut down. As the auxillary power unit is an essential equiptment for the safe operation of an air liner, every commercial jet liner has one. As a matter of fact auxillary power is required by FAA rules for commercial aircraft certification.
Because there is always a threat of being over charged by the airline for something other than a basic seat or the potential for a non-scripted incident to the plane, I take it the 1st two posters will be swearing off flying on any airplanes in the future, right?
Otherwise, the expected "par for the course" sarcasm is nothing more than their enjoyment from the thrill of complaining about something.
dont know about the first two poster's but i am an aerospace parts inspector and i don't fly....whats that tell you?
That you're fired.
I don't think they are saying they wouldn't fly, just not on that plane immediately after the incident, I would want a different plane until that one has been repaired and the source of the fire found and corrected. Anything mechanical can fail.
That you have a fear of flying.
In this field most often inspectors can be...for pointing out obvious flaws ... think about that next time you fly
how very true....but you need not stand on the tracks to see a train.
Oops, Scooter you got caught in my edit, sorry :)
The problem was with the APU, not the aircraft. Only comes into use when aircraft is parked at the gate waiting for the next flight. I seriously doubt any passenger would board a plane after it sits at the gate with no APU to power the temperature control within the craft.
Wait. What?! That's like saying "The problem was with the engine, not the car!" The APU is located IN the aircraft tail section.
What kind of plane?
well its a big a big silver one that goes real real fast.
It's a big pretty white plane, and it has wheels and well, it looks like a big Tylenol.
Nah it was a biplane, oops wrong century
If God meant man to fly, he/she would have given them wings; covered wagon only way to go, just watch out for Injun territory.
A320
cool i didnt know they made a ....RC.....A320..........
( i know, i know....groan)
Well it wasnt Boeing!
It was boing, boing...
notrelatedI( take it the 1st two posters will be swearing off flying on any airplanes in the future, right?)
Not at all. I love flying. If I were being sarcastic, I would have placed such a notation. I was being factitious, tongue in cheek. Considering airplane pilots have made unexpected stops and required passengers to hand over cash, in order to pay for gas, before continuing the rest of the way, for tickets they had already paid for, while the owner of another airline has stated he may charge for using the bathroom, lights and air, I was looking at the funny side.
Then again, a very real fear could exist for some passengers, taking the same type of airplane, that has just had a fire. Because in the past, when some planes crashed due to mechanical problems discovered by investigations, when other planes of the identical models were checked, some showed the same potential deadly problems. The public isn't completely stupid and unaware of this.
Causing the airline to ground these planes until repairs were made. Learning your intended plane has caught fire, you don't know how or why, and you are switched to an identical one, might make some people just a tad nervous about flying. I can hear the captain now,"Sorry folks for the delay, your other plane caught fire, but I can promise you, this one was made better." If it were a car, you know you can pull over and get out. Exactly how would you do that in the air?If one can't poke a little fun at the airlines, then folks are taking life way too seriously.
notrelated, (because there is always the threat of being over charged)
I think the airlines have it nailed down pretty good. Unless they start charging for sleeping,bathrooms, air and lights. Nothing is left, oh wait, gasoline based on ones weight, this has been suggested by other countries
Last, lighten up, please. I don't see anyone complaining except you.I thought Chris's suggestion was funny.
their luggage however was placed on a flight to Bangladesh, and will probably get there before this scheduled flight takes off sometime in the next couple of days.
ROFLMAO
I'd make sure yours was on a flight further than Bangladesh. Anyone know the city code for the capital of Kazakhstan?
Its was just a small fuel leak, nothing to worry about. They most likely only use the apu on taxi out and taxi in. They are generally not used in the air to save fuel, UNLESS there is an event in the air which demands the apu be started. IE: engine failure, engine driven generator failure, or an engine supplied bleed air to the leading edge failure.
There are so many redundant features built into passenger airliners, they are way more safe than you will ever know unless you are actually in aviation.
and now they are even safer because they are using smaller rivets to reduce weight....course the UTS or TS goes out the window....but only in SOME tests. most differences lie in the in house vs. outsource area...for some reason.
just one example of countless mostly "energy saving improvements"....
ya know all those 50 year old planes that were on here the other day? think these new one's will last that long?
Most likely a Honeywell APU.
There's a reason they call it US Scareways.
Time to deem all air travel a danger to all people.
That's why I don't fly it sucks on,all levels safety,cost fees,next they will charge you for the recycled air on board
Flying is for the masses who,think they have to be somewhere,,they don't,,stay home it's cheaper and less,bull sheet involved
I love flying on anything that uses parts made by the cheapest bidder.
Well, let's see: The pilot could have shut down the unit and activated the fire extinguisher system for the APU and if he didn't it would automatically shut down and activate the extinguisher system on it's own if it detected a fire. That's the way all commercial airliners are designed. Guess something went wrong--when we find out what -- I suppose we'd better ban it!!
WYAZ your a moron also.
Scary.... and thank goodness it wasn't up in the air.