British Airways Boeing 777
On the 4th of May 2020, a fire suppression system had malfunctioned in Tech 6, in a hangar belonging to British Airways in London Heathrow. A Boeing 777-200ER registered G-YMMB was parked in the hangar which was filled with foam! It appears in a video posted by Aeronews that the foam was being sprayed from three outlets with one covering the aircraft's wheels. The video shows that there was no one present in the hangar suggesting that there was no incidents. However, this isn't confirmed.
Heathrow's fire fighting service is responsible for all fire-related safety planning and responses inside the airport whether they are aviation related or not. They abide by framework guidelines set out by the Civil Aviation Authority and the operational standards of the National Firefighter. Heathrow has become a thriving airport and has had to invest in fire safety and fire fighting equipment. This includes PPE equipment, automated systems, vehicles and alarms.
The incident is not one to be messed with. However, the London Fire Brigade believes that these false alarms, automated systems and the fire suspension systems are a brilliant thing as they don't only give an early warning of a fire, they also could potentially save lives. Gary Moorshed, the chief fire officer of Heathrow's fire service told Airport Technology that: 'We are always collaborating with manufacturers of appliance technology and equipment in order to maintain a rapid response to incidents.'
Even though G-YMMB went for a nice swim, it may cost the airline quite a bit. The aircraft was held in the hangar for another day as it needed to be thoroughly checked after the incident. The engines weren't covered and the undercarriage was exposed to the foam. It also resulted in a large clean up of the hangar. However, as seen of FR24, G-YMMB was back up in the skies again on the 5th of May as it flew from London Heathrow to Amritsar, India operating flight BA9151.
These minor incidents are not ideal for the airline in this current environment. With their Boeing 747s retired and the majority of their fleet grounded, including all but two Airbus A380 aircraft, each aircraft left in service is essential. There is also rumours stating that it was the staff that set off the system. British Airways recently sacked 12,000 of their employees (1/4 of their workforce) which included 931 engineers that were on the site at the time of the incident. However, a British Airways spokesperson has stated that it was a technical issue. The incident is currently under investigation as they try to figure out what caused the failure of the hangar's fire suppression system.
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