Narrative:

Captain reviewed flightplan and discussed several issues with dispatch. Several maintenance issues were noted regarding hydraulic leaks; APU electrical problems; and electrical issues with the aircraft that were deferred. Aircraft was load restricted because of approaching typhoon at our destination because of necessary fuel reserves. Aircraft was delayed at the gate due to an inoperative heading select knob on the mode control panel (MCP). Maintenance was trying to defer the MCP unit and that was not acceptable. Captain rejected the aircraft which became an issue with maintenance personnel. The autopilot could not have been controlled in the heading select mode. That does not comply with SOP.just prior to taxi another delay occurred trying to get final weights and we were told it was a 'customer service problem'. The captain shutdown engines abeam the gate waiting for ACARS report to conserve fuel which almost became critical for arrival fuel at our destination. It is almost the rule now that aircraft are dispatched with some kind of maintenance issues or failures requiring additional stress issues for the crew.the flight went normally until about 3 hours out when there was an electrical problem with bus #4 which then was isolated. About three hours later approaching our destination and the outer edge of the typhoon; captain briefed crew and seated flight attendants early and prepared cabin for turbulence and high crosswind landing with windshear.just approaching the arrival fix; descending to 18;000 ft; the crew heard popping noises at the right instrument panel and saw sparking from behind co-pilots pfd (primary flight display) screen and smoke started to fill the cockpit. Both co-pilot's screens went blank. Crew performed immediate checklist items for smoke from qrc checklist. Smoke continued to increase until captain instructed a relief pilot to pull the right pfd and nd (navigation display) circuit breakers; which took time to find in the dark. The circuit breaker for the affected system had failed to pop out!the captain ordered the smoke evacuation handle on the overhead to be opened which was very hard to operate. He then instructed first officer to declare an emergency with center and request an immediate landing. The flight attendants were informed and an immediate turning high speed steep descent was performed to intercept the ILS to 07L. As a result of actions by the relief first officer- smoke gradually dissipated and although a high speed approach was performed while encountering windshear and crosswinds the aircraft made a smooth landing and quickly turned at an exit right in front of the airport fire station where fire trucks were standing by. The flight attendants and passengers were ordered to remain seated after stopping. We then taxied normally to gate where the captain contacted operations; dispatch and flight duty manager.maintenance issues on all B747-400s are chronic problems! Items are broken and deferred on all flights and just resetting circuit breakers and ground checking equipment doesn't constitute thorough maintenance. Aircraft are shown to be 'legal' to fly by paperwork standards for the release to the pilots; but are marginal in this respect.it should be automatic after an emergency of this nature for crews to be released from additional flying duty! This flight crew handled this emergency after 16 hours of flight; flying all night; minimum rest in the aircraft; and being 13 hours off normal body clock time. The captain and the flying first officer were then expected to continue flying in the typhoon region for three more segments for five more days. Adequate rest looks legal in the computer and meets FAA requirements; but is; in practical terms; inadequate.the checklist in the aircraft defining circuit breakers locations for quick activation is inadequate or missing. A qrc style circuit breaker location list should be in the cockpit listing all locations for equipment that will be disabled in alphabetical order and should be available for immediate use. It is impossible to call maintenance control under these circumstances and definitely impossible for crews to go looking through manuals to accomplish the appropriate procedure. Also; the aircraft needs to have an electronic checklist installed and brought up to today's standards. The fire/smoke checklist should be shown completely on the qrc without having to go to an additional checklist in the manual. This is a critical procedure and almost impossible to find in manual with the oxygen mask and smoke goggles on.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B747-400 Captain believes he is observing a general deterioration in the maintenance standards at his airline; this report dealt with a detailed report of failed navigation displays; smoke and fire; fuel concerns and flight into a typhoon after 16 plus hours on duty.

Narrative: Captain reviewed flightplan and discussed several issues with Dispatch. Several maintenance issues were noted regarding hydraulic leaks; APU electrical problems; and electrical issues with the aircraft that were deferred. Aircraft was load restricted because of approaching typhoon at our destination because of necessary fuel reserves. Aircraft was delayed at the gate due to an inoperative heading select knob on the mode control panel (MCP). Maintenance was trying to defer the MCP unit and that was not acceptable. Captain rejected the aircraft which became an issue with Maintenance personnel. The autopilot could not have been controlled in the heading select mode. That does not comply with SOP.Just prior to taxi another delay occurred trying to get final weights and we were told it was a 'customer service problem'. The Captain shutdown engines abeam the gate waiting for ACARS report to conserve fuel which almost became critical for arrival fuel at our destination. It is almost the rule now that aircraft are dispatched with some kind of maintenance issues or failures requiring additional stress issues for the crew.The flight went normally until about 3 hours out when there was an electrical problem with Bus #4 which then was isolated. About three hours later approaching our destination and the outer edge of the typhoon; Captain briefed crew and seated flight attendants early and prepared cabin for turbulence and high crosswind landing with windshear.Just approaching the arrival fix; descending to 18;000 FT; the crew heard popping noises at the right instrument panel and saw sparking from behind co-pilots PFD (Primary Flight Display) screen and smoke started to fill the cockpit. Both Co-pilot's screens went blank. Crew performed immediate checklist items for smoke from QRC checklist. Smoke continued to increase until Captain instructed a Relief Pilot to pull the right PFD and ND (Navigation Display) Circuit Breakers; which took time to find in the dark. The circuit breaker for the affected system had failed to pop out!The Captain ordered the Smoke Evacuation Handle on the overhead to be opened which was very hard to operate. He then instructed First Officer to declare an emergency with Center and request an immediate landing. The flight attendants were informed and an immediate turning high speed steep descent was performed to intercept the ILS to 07L. As a result of actions by the Relief First Officer- smoke gradually dissipated and although a high speed approach was performed while encountering windshear and crosswinds the aircraft made a smooth landing and quickly turned at an exit right in front of the airport fire station where fire trucks were standing by. The flight attendants and passengers were ordered to remain seated after stopping. We then taxied normally to gate where the Captain contacted Operations; Dispatch and Flight Duty Manager.Maintenance issues on all B747-400s are chronic problems! Items are broken and deferred on all flights and just resetting circuit breakers and ground checking equipment doesn't constitute thorough maintenance. Aircraft are shown to be 'legal' to fly by paperwork standards for the release to the pilots; but are marginal in this respect.It should be automatic after an emergency of this nature for crews to be released from additional flying duty! This flight crew handled this emergency after 16 hours of flight; flying all night; minimum rest in the aircraft; and being 13 hours off normal body clock time. The Captain and the flying First Officer were then expected to continue flying in the typhoon region for three more segments for five more days. Adequate rest looks legal in the computer and meets FAA requirements; but is; in practical terms; inadequate.The checklist in the aircraft defining circuit breakers locations for quick activation is inadequate or missing. A QRC style circuit breaker location list should be in the cockpit listing all locations for equipment that will be disabled in alphabetical order and should be available for immediate use. It is impossible to call Maintenance Control under these circumstances and definitely impossible for crews to go looking through manuals to accomplish the appropriate procedure. Also; the aircraft needs to have an electronic checklist installed and brought up to today's standards. The fire/smoke checklist should be shown completely on the QRC without having to go to an additional checklist in the manual. This is a critical procedure and almost impossible to find in manual with the oxygen mask and smoke goggles on.

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.