Dassault-Breguet MYSTERE FALCON 900 N610RL

Summary

On 16 April 2015 at about 23:10 local time, a Dassault-Breguet MYSTERE FALCON 900 registered N610RL, operated by RLB Holdings Transportation LLC, was involved in an incident near Orlando, Florida, United States. 15 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 April 2015 at 23:10

Classification

Incident

Location

Orlando, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Orlando International (MCO)

Coordinates

28.4294, -81.3089

Aircraft

Dassault-Breguet MYSTERE FALCON 900

Registration

N610RL

Category

Airplane

Year built

1988

Engines

3

Operator

RLB Holdings Transportation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

White Plains → Orlando

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

ERA15IA198

Nobody was injured.

Unknown maintenance personnel’s inadequate securing of a wiring bundle during a maintenance, repair, or modification event, which led to chafing of the wiring bundle, an electrical short and arcing, and a subsequent in-flight fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the airplane’s descent to its destination airport, the cabin attendant noticed a “weird smell” in the galley area; she checked the appliances but could find nothing wrong with them. She then turned around and opened the area in the galley where they kept the crystal glasses and noticed a “glow behind it,” which was an electrical fire. The pilot extinguished the fire using two halon fire extinguishers, and the airplane incurred minor damage. Examination of the area behind the crystal storage area revealed sooting, a burnt wiring bundle containing the 28-volt direct current wiring and ground wires for the cabin lighting, and a tripped circuit breaker for the cabin lighting. Two of the insulation bags in the area of the burnt wiring bundle had been fire damaged, and the wires had been routed over the insulation bags instead of directly next to the airplane's structure. The wires were also in contact with or near a soft oxygen line, which had been completely burned through. Examination of the oxygen line revealed no evidence of copper on the exposed coil; thus, the wiring had chafed against itself and not against the soft oxygen line. During the 26 years between the completion of the airplane and the incident, numerous modifications to the lighting, interior, and galley had been made by several maintenance, repair, and overhaul organizations, which required rerouting and re-securing wiring, as well as removal and replacement of interior panels, partitions, and cabinetry near the fire. The oxygen line and wiring in the area of the fire damage had been changed from the originally specified configuration; it did not conform to the manufacturer's cabin oxygen system drawing or the manufacturer's installation standard. Further, a clamp on the oxygen line near the fire damaged area appeared to be the wrong part number clamp. A spacer and a support in this area were missing, which would have been used to achieve and maintain separation between the oxygen line and wiring. Postincident examinations of exemplar airplanes revealed that on three of the seven airplanes, the layout of the oxygen line and electrical wiring was in compliance with manufacturer installation standards. However, on the other four airplanes, incorrect routing, spacing, or support was found, which likely occurred during maintenance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.