A citation 560 air conditioning compressor caught fire during preflight on ground power at the gate;...

Attributes
ACN	1108806
Time
Date	201308
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Citation V/Ultra/Encore (C560)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Air Conditioning Compressor
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

Narrative:

During first flight of the day preflight the aircraft was powered using a gpu. All required systems were then powered up including the air conditioner. During the preflight walk around the captain noticed a strange odor coming from the rear baggage compartment area. The captain notified the first officer of the odor and asked for help in identifying where the odor was coming from. Upon inspection it was found that the AC compressor was sparking with smoke beginning to flow from the unit. The air conditioner was immediately turned off at which time it caught fire. The cockpit halon fire extinguisher was then used to put the fire out and the fire department was called. The fire department arrived and determined the fire was indeed extinguished and remained on site until the AC unit cooled.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Citation 560 air conditioning compressor caught fire during preflight on ground power at the gate; the flight crew extinguished the fire using the aircraft's walk around halon bottle.

Narrative: During first flight of the day preflight the aircraft was powered using a GPU. All required systems were then powered up including the air conditioner. During the preflight walk around the Captain noticed a strange odor coming from the rear baggage compartment area. The Captain notified the First Officer of the odor and asked for help in identifying where the odor was coming from. Upon inspection it was found that the AC compressor was sparking with smoke beginning to flow from the unit. The air conditioner was immediately turned off at which time it caught fire. The cockpit halon fire extinguisher was then used to put the fire out and the Fire Department was called. The Fire Department arrived and determined the fire was indeed extinguished and remained on site until the AC unit cooled.

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.

A citation 560 air conditioning compressor caught fire during preflight on ground power at the gate; the flight crew extinguished the fire using the aircraft's walk around halon bottle.