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Air carrier captain is informed of lithium batteries loaded in lower forward cargo compartment; which only has halon as the fire suppression agent and is not effective against lithium battery fires.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1087745 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201305 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | FO |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Widebody Transport |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
Thirty one kilograms of lithium batteries were loaded in lower forward cargo compartment. The only fire protection in the lower cargo holds is halon which is not effective against a lithium battery fire. Worst case scenario it could cause an explosive reaction with particular lithium batteries. As lithium battery fires are a recognized threat on cargo aircraft; and at least 2 aircraft have crashed due to onboard fires over the last couple years; any risks associated with carrying lithium batteries as cargo should be minimized. All lithium ion/metal batteries should always be loaded on the main cargo deck where the argon/cargo foam cfss is supposedly effective in controlling the thermal runaway/chemical reaction involved in a lithium battery fire; particularly when multiple batteries are on board.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Air carrier Captain is informed of Lithium batteries loaded in lower forward cargo compartment; which only has Halon as the fire suppression agent and is not effective against Lithium battery fires.
Narrative: Thirty one kilograms of Lithium batteries were loaded in lower forward cargo compartment. The only fire protection in the lower cargo holds is Halon which is NOT EFFECTIVE against a Lithium battery fire. Worst case scenario it could cause an explosive reaction with particular Lithium batteries. As Lithium battery fires are a recognized threat on cargo aircraft; and at least 2 aircraft have crashed due to onboard fires over the last couple years; any risks associated with carrying Lithium batteries as cargo should be minimized. ALL Lithium ion/metal batteries should ALWAYS be loaded on the main cargo deck where the argon/cargo foam CFSS is supposedly effective in controlling the thermal runaway/chemical reaction involved in a Lithium battery fire; particularly when multiple batteries are on board.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.