Narrative:

The flight was eastbound 140 nautical miles west of cyqx at FL410 at the time the incident occurred. The flight attendant entered the cockpit to advise that she had smelled smoke in the aft galley trash container; discharged the hand-held halon fire extinguisher into the container; closed it; and had come forward immediately. The first officer was directed to go back to the galley with the flight attendant and ensure that any fire had been extinguished. While there was no smoke visible in the cockpit; the captain donned the oxygen mask and smoke goggles and performed the 'smoke in aft galley' checklist. Cyqx was initially decided on as a diversion airport because the crew was familiar with it and aware of forecast VMC weather there. Cyqx also happened to be straight ahead of the aircraft at the time. The aircraft was accelerated toward mmo speed and an emergency descent was prepared for. Within three minutes; the first officer returned to the cockpit to advise that the source of the smoke had been found in the galley trash bin and was confirmed extinguished. Earlier; the flight attendant had wetted some face cloths and heated them in the microwave oven in order to distribute them to the passengers and crew. Some were unused. One unused cloth had become completely dried out in the oven and started to smolder within the folds. It was inadvertently discarded in the galley trash container along with the others.the first officer had gone through each item in the galley trash bin and found this cloth. The smoldering fibers had caused some burn holes in an adjacent paper napkin. The halon from the hand-held extinguisher had prevented a fire from developing. He explained that not enough heat had been generated to activate the automatic fire extinguisher located in that trash container or even to melt a hole in the plastic trash bin liner. After discussion with the crew; the captain decided not to divert the flight and to continue to the original destination. All crew members were confident that the source of the smoke had been found and eliminated. There was no damage to the aircraft. Two unused hand-held fire extinguishers were still available for use and the crew knew that only two were required for dispatch. Each item that had been in the trash container was [soaked]; checked to make sure it was cold; and re-bagged. The flight attendant coordinated with the crew to use the smoke evacuation valve located in the aft lavatory to evacuate the residual smell. Crew training and standard operating procedures were effective in this event. The quick action of the flight attendant prevented a galley fire from occurring. It is suggested that airports be selected for display on the cockpit navigation displays while operating in remote areas. Most pilots de-select airports from this display due to clutter at the larger range scales used while enroute. In remote areas with few airports; this is not a problem. As mentioned in the report; the known airport straight ahead of the aircraft was initially considered for a diversion airport. After completing one checklist and reviewing another; the pilot flying selected airports on the navigation display. Cyjt showed as the nearest airport. Just at that time; the first officer had returned to the cockpit to report that the source of the smoke had been found and extinguished. This all occurred within three minutes of the initial report. The threat had already passed; but had an emergency descent and diversion been necessary; the flight would have been headed away from the nearest airport for three minutes. Finally; it is suggested that a standard procedure for preparing heated face cloths be established for the cabin crew. Perhaps preheated warm water can be applied to the face cloths to avoid heating them in the microwave oven.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: G IV Captain is advised by the Flight Attendant of smoke in the aft galley trash bin which was sprayed with Halon. A face cloth which had been (over)heated in the oven and discarded; was found to have caused the smoke.

Narrative: The flight was eastbound 140 nautical miles west of CYQX at FL410 at the time the incident occurred. The Flight Attendant entered the cockpit to advise that she had smelled smoke in the aft galley trash container; discharged the hand-held halon fire extinguisher into the container; closed it; and had come forward immediately. The First Officer was directed to go back to the galley with the Flight Attendant and ensure that any fire had been extinguished. While there was no smoke visible in the cockpit; the Captain donned the oxygen mask and smoke goggles and performed the 'Smoke in aft galley' checklist. CYQX was initially decided on as a diversion airport because the crew was familiar with it and aware of forecast VMC weather there. CYQX also happened to be straight ahead of the aircraft at the time. The aircraft was accelerated toward MMO speed and an emergency descent was prepared for. Within three minutes; the First Officer returned to the cockpit to advise that the source of the smoke had been found in the galley trash bin and was confirmed extinguished. Earlier; the Flight Attendant had wetted some face cloths and heated them in the microwave oven in order to distribute them to the passengers and crew. Some were unused. One unused cloth had become completely dried out in the oven and started to smolder within the folds. It was inadvertently discarded in the galley trash container along with the others.The First Officer had gone through each item in the galley trash bin and found this cloth. The smoldering fibers had caused some burn holes in an adjacent paper napkin. The halon from the hand-held extinguisher had prevented a fire from developing. He explained that not enough heat had been generated to activate the automatic fire extinguisher located in that trash container or even to melt a hole in the plastic trash bin liner. After discussion with the crew; the captain decided not to divert the flight and to continue to the original destination. All crew members were confident that the source of the smoke had been found and eliminated. There was no damage to the aircraft. Two unused hand-held fire extinguishers were still available for use and the crew knew that only two were required for dispatch. Each item that had been in the trash container was [soaked]; checked to make sure it was cold; and re-bagged. The Flight Attendant coordinated with the crew to use the smoke evacuation valve located in the aft lavatory to evacuate the residual smell. Crew training and standard operating procedures were effective in this event. The quick action of the Flight Attendant prevented a galley fire from occurring. It is suggested that airports be selected for display on the cockpit navigation displays while operating in remote areas. Most pilots de-select airports from this display due to clutter at the larger range scales used while enroute. In remote areas with few airports; this is not a problem. As mentioned in the report; the known airport straight ahead of the aircraft was initially considered for a diversion airport. After completing one checklist and reviewing another; the pilot flying selected airports on the navigation display. CYJT showed as the nearest airport. Just at that time; the First Officer had returned to the cockpit to report that the source of the smoke had been found and extinguished. This all occurred within three minutes of the initial report. The threat had already passed; but had an emergency descent and diversion been necessary; the flight would have been headed away from the nearest airport for three minutes. Finally; it is suggested that a standard procedure for preparing heated face cloths be established for the cabin crew. Perhaps preheated warm water can be applied to the face cloths to avoid heating them in the microwave oven.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.