Narrative:

I and [copilot] were assigned a part 135 flight to ZZZ with two passengers at standard weights; and less than 60lbs of cargo in the aft cargo compartment; to depart at xa am local time; after our first flight with another passenger canceled. We had a bit over 2000 lbs/300 gallons of fuel onboard for the leg to ZZZ at FL390. The weather at ZZZ1 was clear and calm; the weather at ZZZ was clear and variable. As we reached our cruising altitude of FL390 we did our cruise checks; and all systems were normal. We then discussed how much time there was left for the arrival into ZZZ; approximately 29 minutes. As [copilot] grabbed her company ipad to start getting familiarized with the frequencies and runway; I also grabbed my company ipad to get the vref landing numbers and put them in the box. At that moment [copilot] yelled smoke!! I turned to look at her and noticed white smoke coming from behind the right side of her seat; I then asked her if she had an ipad or phone charger connected to the a/C outlet that is in the same position as where the smoke was coming from; she said no!; and yelled let's descend now! I immediately performed our immediate emergency descent smoke and fire memory items; squawked 7700 and informed the controller that we were [advising ATC]; and had to descend immediately with vectors to the nearest airport due to smoke in the cabin. The controller replied ZZZ2 or ZZZ3 are the nearest. I requested vectors to ZZZ2 because of its long runways; professional fire department; and emergency equipment on the airport premises. The controller cleared us to descend to FL240 and gave us a 330 heading. As we turned to ZZZ2 while rapidly descending with speed brakes deployed at 260-265 kts and a 5;000 [feet] a min rate of descent to FL240; flames broke out on the top right corner of the co-pilots windshield; I immediately asked [copilot] to grab the fire extinguisher that was behind my seat; and extinguish the flames with the halon bottle. I then informed the controller that we had a spreading fire in our flight deck and required lower immediately; the controller then gave us step down altitudes all the way to final approach. Please note: we did not get any cass messages for windshield overheat; but I still checked my QRH checklist; looking for window overheat; and electrical fire and smoke; nothing made sense. So after containing the fire; my focus was getting us on the ground as soon as possible; but was overwhelmed with communication confusion; because on many calls that we received; we could not properly hear the controller over the speaker. I was going to go into my CDU and remove the window heat at high flight levels just to see if that would stop the burning; but I was told in ground class that the windows might shatter due to temperature inversions; so at that point I relied on the circuit breaker to do its job; if it was detecting a short. Knowing all this; I did not want to continue focusing my attention on this anymore; because my number one priority was to fly the plane; and not get distracted if we could contain the fire; just like we did. While descending and trying to keep the fire under control; [copilot] was trying to help me in every way she could; without getting burned from the burning plastic that was falling on her from up above the ceiling. One thing I do need to add is after speaking with the passengers; they said that very hot air was venting into the cabin; and that the floor and the side walls of the aircraft were real hot; this leads me into believing [we had] environmental air issues. I also recall [copilot] saying the vents are pushing hot air when we were about to land. I have to commend her for her extraordinary bravery; professionalism; and for performing her duties in the flight deck way above and beyond. Once [copilot] had everything under control; she checked in with our passengers to make sure they had their masks on; and were ok. Both passengers and [copilot] gave the thumbs up. While passing 15;000 feet I noticed the controls felt heavier and my trim had gone to full aft. I tried pushing the trim switch forward on my yoke; and the trim would not respond. I then tried manual mode and both switches; the trim forward and aft levers. I then pushed the normal mode trim push button and it would not turn amber. I asked [copilot] to help me push the yoke forward and she did; but once we went below 7;000 [feet]; the trims started working. I performed the descent and landing checklist while [copilot] was handling the radio communication; and trying to keep the fire under control with the halon fire extinguisher; we then briefed that after we land we would pull off the runway and evacuate. The tower gave us wind direction and our runway choice; we requested runway 1L which was direct with no further delays; the tower brought it to our attention that the winds were not favoring that runway due to the 28kts and gusting winds. I told the tower I needed no delays to runway 1L. As I and [copilot] had already discussed the length of the runway and it was sufficient even with a tail wind; plus due to our smoke and fire emergency status; we both agreed that runway 1L would be the right choice to get on the ground immediately. After we landed; the tower asked us if we were going to evacuate on the runway; and we replied no we will turn into the intersection of south and F; the tower thanked us. Then; we initiated our evacuation; [copilot] opened the boarding and deplaning main door; and evacuated the aircraft. [Copilot] directed the passengers to a safe area away from the aircraft. After everyone was out; and the aircraft was secure; I exit the aircraft and let the fire department go into the aircraft to check if the plane was still on fire; and it was. The fire department had to use their halon bottle to completely extinguish the fire. This is after the aircraft had already been shut down and secured. I advised the fire department that I would disconnect both batteries so that the aircraft would no longer have any sort of electrical current whatsoever..

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An HA-420 HondaJet Captain reported smoke and flames in the cockpit; due to a window heat element malfunction; which necessitated an immediate diversion to the nearest suitable airport.

Narrative: I and [copilot] were assigned a Part 135 flight to ZZZ with two passengers at standard weights; and less than 60lbs of cargo in the AFT cargo compartment; to depart at XA am local time; after our first flight with another passenger canceled. We had a bit over 2000 lbs/300 gallons of fuel onboard for the leg to ZZZ at FL390. The weather at ZZZ1 was clear and calm; the weather at ZZZ was clear and variable. As we reached our cruising altitude of FL390 we did our cruise checks; and all systems were normal. We then discussed how much time there was left for the arrival into ZZZ; approximately 29 minutes. As [copilot] grabbed her company iPad to start getting familiarized with the frequencies and runway; I also grabbed my company iPad to get the Vref landing numbers and put them in the box. At that moment [copilot] yelled SMOKE!! I turned to look at her and noticed white smoke coming from behind the right side of her seat; I then asked her if she had an iPad or phone charger connected to the A/C outlet that is in the same position as where the smoke was coming from; She said no!; and yelled let's descend now! I immediately performed our immediate emergency descent smoke and fire memory items; squawked 7700 and informed the Controller that we were [advising ATC]; and had to descend immediately with vectors to the nearest airport due to smoke in the cabin. The Controller replied ZZZ2 or ZZZ3 are the nearest. I requested vectors to ZZZ2 because of its long runways; professional fire department; and emergency equipment on the airport premises. The Controller cleared us to descend to FL240 and gave us a 330 heading. As we turned to ZZZ2 while rapidly descending with speed brakes deployed at 260-265 kts and a 5;000 [feet] a min rate of descent to FL240; flames broke out on the top right corner of the co-pilots windshield; I immediately asked [copilot] to grab the fire extinguisher that was behind my seat; and extinguish the flames with the halon bottle. I then informed the Controller that we had a spreading fire in our flight deck and required lower immediately; the Controller then gave us step down altitudes all the way to final approach. Please Note: We did not get any CASS messages for windshield overheat; but I still checked my QRH checklist; looking for window overheat; and electrical fire and smoke; nothing made sense. So after containing the fire; my focus was getting us on the ground ASAP; but was overwhelmed with communication confusion; because on many calls that we received; we could not properly hear the Controller over the speaker. I was going to go into my CDU and remove the window heat at high flight levels just to see if that would stop the burning; but I was told in ground class that the windows might shatter due to temperature inversions; so at that point I relied on the circuit breaker to do its job; if it was detecting a short. Knowing all this; I did not want to continue focusing my attention on this anymore; because my number one priority was to fly the plane; and not get distracted if we could contain the fire; just like we did. While descending and trying to keep the fire under control; [copilot] was trying to help me in every way she could; without getting burned from the burning plastic that was falling on her from up above the ceiling. One thing I do need to add is after speaking with the passengers; they said that very hot air was venting into the cabin; and that the floor and the side walls of the aircraft were real hot; this leads me into believing [we had] environmental air issues. I also recall [copilot] saying the vents are pushing hot air when we were about to land. I have to commend her for her extraordinary bravery; professionalism; and for performing her duties in the flight deck way above and beyond. Once [copilot] had everything under control; she checked in with our passengers to make sure they had their masks on; and were ok. Both passengers and [copilot] gave the thumbs up. While passing 15;000 feet I noticed the controls felt heavier and my trim had gone to full aft. I tried pushing the trim switch forward on my yoke; and the trim would not respond. I then tried manual mode and both switches; the trim forward and aft levers. I then pushed the normal mode trim push button and it would not turn amber. I asked [copilot] to help me push the yoke forward and she did; but once we went below 7;000 [feet]; the trims started working. I performed the descent and landing checklist while [copilot] was handling the radio communication; and trying to keep the fire under control with the halon fire extinguisher; we then briefed that after we land we would pull off the runway and evacuate. The Tower gave us wind direction and our runway choice; we requested Runway 1L which was direct with no further delays; the Tower brought it to our attention that the winds were not favoring that runway due to the 28kts and gusting winds. I told the Tower I needed no delays to Runway 1L. As I and [copilot] had already discussed the length of the runway and it was sufficient even with a tail wind; plus due to our smoke and fire emergency status; we both agreed that Runway 1L would be the right choice to get on the ground immediately. After we landed; the Tower asked us if we were going to evacuate on the runway; and we replied no we will turn into the intersection of S and F; the Tower thanked us. Then; we initiated our evacuation; [copilot] opened the boarding and deplaning main door; and evacuated the aircraft. [Copilot] directed the passengers to a safe area away from the aircraft. After everyone was out; and the aircraft was secure; I exit the aircraft and let the fire department go into the aircraft to check if the plane was still on fire; and it was. The fire department had to use their halon bottle to completely extinguish the fire. This is after the aircraft had already been shut down and secured. I advised the fire department that I would disconnect both batteries so that the aircraft would no longer have any sort of electrical current whatsoever..

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.