 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
A320 captain reported returning to the gate after shutting down the APU because of an APU exhaust fire.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1369632 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201606 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A320 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | APU Fuel System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor |
Narrative:
During taxi out (APU was shut down after engine start) prior to takeoff; APU exhaust fire was reported by an aircraft behind us. We then found that APU fuel valve had failed to close after shutdown. We pressed APU fire and pulled APU fuel circuit breaker per mx control to no avail. Thanks to good work by [the] fire department no evacuation was required as the fire was extinguished. We taxied safely back to gate followed by the fire trucks. We never received any ECAM or cockpit warning of the APU fuel valve disagreement. The only cockpit indication was found when we selected the fuel system page where we were able to see the APU fuel valve stuck in the open (or not closed) position with the APU shut down.I believe ECAM should have caught this; but am still researching. Should we check the fuel page before takeoff?
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A320 Captain reported returning to the gate after shutting down the APU because of an APU exhaust fire.
Narrative: During taxi out (APU was shut down after engine start) prior to takeoff; APU exhaust fire was reported by an aircraft behind us. We then found that APU fuel valve had failed to close after shutdown. We pressed APU Fire and pulled APU fuel circuit breaker per mx control to no avail. Thanks to good work by [the] fire department no evacuation was required as the fire was extinguished. We taxied safely back to gate followed by the fire trucks. We never received any ECAM or cockpit warning of the APU fuel valve disagreement. The only cockpit indication was found when we selected the fuel system page where we were able to see the APU fuel valve stuck in the open (or not closed) position with the APU shut down.I believe ECAM should have caught this; but am still researching. Should we check the fuel page before takeoff?
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.