Investigators found areas of soot and burned wiring after a Part 91-operated Falcon 900 crew doused an in-flight galley fire and then conducted an uneventful landing at Orlando International Airport (MCO) at 7:10 p.m. local time on April 16, according to an NTSB preliminary report released on Friday. None of the 15 people aboard was injured.
During the flight, the flight attendant noticed an odd smell in the galley area and then noticed something glowing behind some galley appliances. She notified the pilot, who first confirmed the power was off to all ovens, warmers and microwaves, before using two Halon fire extinguishers to squelch the blaze. The crew declared an emergency, but decided to continue to Orlando because of the airport’s long runways and excellent fire-and-rescue capabilities.
A later examination of the area in back of the galley’s glass storage area revealed sooting and the remains of a burned wiring bundle. Later, investigators found the circuit breaker for the 28-volt cabin overhead lighting bundle had tripped. The investigation revealed the wires had been routed over an insulation bundle and not next to the aircraft fuselage. The same wires were also found to have burned through a soft oxygen line believed to be part of the passenger system.