Crash: Asiana B744 near Jeju on Jul 28th 2011, fire in cargo hold..........Lithium batteries again?????????

Crash: Asiana B744 near Jeju on Jul 28th 2011, fire in cargo hold..........Lithium batteries again?????????

South Korea's ARAIB have released their preliminary report stating the first officer declared emergency about 50 minutes after takeoff from Seoul and 3 minutes after reporting on Shanghai frequency reporting a fire and requested to descend to 10,000 feet, 40 seconds later the first officer requested to divert to Jeju and reported they had an aft cargo fire. Subsequent communication between Incheon (Seoul) Radar and OZ-991 was done with the help of Korean Air flight KE-886, who relayed communication between radar and OZ-991. 12 minutes after declaring emergency the captain of OZ-991 reported they had lost rudder control, a minute later the captain stated they needed to open the hatch. 15 minutes after declaring emergency OZ-991 reported all flight controls were not working, the first officer added they had severe vibrations on the aircraft and needed to attempt an emergency ditching. 21 minutes after declaring emergency the first officer stated altitude control was not possible due to severe vibrations, "going to dtich ... ah" - and communication was lost. One minute prior to the emergency call the crew had received a message "CARGO FIRE MAIN DECK ZONE-11 LOOP-A FAIL", just prior to the emergency call the message "CARGO FIRE MAIN DECK ZONE-6 AND 10 LOOP-A FAIL" arrived followed by "CARGO FIRE MAIN DECK ZONE-3, 4, 5, 7, 8, AND 16 LOOP-A FAIL", "CARGO FIRE EXTINGUISHING ARMED 'NO ACTION REQUIRED'", "YDM-LWR FAIL (Yaw Damper Lower)", "APU FIRE LOOP-A & -B", "DOOR L5 SWITCH FAIL" , "FLIGHT RECORDER FAIL", "FMC-L FAIL (NO BUS OUTPUT)", "CARGO BOTTLE A LOW PRESSURE & CARGO BOTTLE B LOW PRESSURE", "CARGO AFT-4 LOOP-A FAIL" within 4 minutes. ACARS messages transmitted 6-7 minutes after the first "CARGO FIRE MAIN DECK ZONE-11 LOOP-A FAIL" message indicated: "EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER ON", "DC CURRENT SENSOR-6 FAIL (BCU-2)", "APU DUCT FAIL", "FLAP LEVER RVDT FAIL (FCU'S), "UPPER YAW DAMPER ACTUATOR LVDT FAIL (YDM-UPR)". First debris was found floating at position N33.2522 E125.0186 about 2 hours after communication with the aircraft was lost. The captain (52, ATPL, 14,123 hours total, 6,896 hours on type) was assisted by a first officer (44, ATPL, 5,211 hours total, 492 on type). The aircraft had accumulated 28,752 flight hours in 4,799 flight cycles. The aircraft had undergone all necessary maintenance, the aircraft logs showed 208 logged faults in the 6 months prior to the crash, all of which were corrected properly and none relevant to the situation on board prior to the crash. According to all ACARS messages received the aircraft had passed position N31.533 E124.588 at about the time of the first fire indication. Examination of aircraft debris recovered from the sea floor revealed discolorisation and soot, evidence of thermal damage and fire, on the outside and inside of door L5, further components between FS1740 and FS2360 also showed evidence of thermal damage, a recovered skin panel from FS2180 to FS2360 revealed evidence the fire had burned through the skin panel. Cargo items had melted. The autopsy of both flight crew revealed no evidence that any of them had consumed medications, toxic agents or alcohol. Both died as result of multiple rib fractures and rupture of multiple organs including heart and lungs as result of impact forces. The investigation so far determined that cargo stored on the aircraft between FS1700 and the aft bulkhead had caught fire. There was no evidence of fire/thermal damage aft of the pressure bulkhead, sections forward of FS1700 showed damage by sooting. The aircraft had been carrying 39,331 kg of cargo, 18,934 kg of which were loaded at Incheon Airport. A total of 2,092 kg was declared as dangerous goods, loaded near the left cargo door on the main deck. These goods consisted of flammable liquids, corrosive liquids and lithium-ion batteries, the shipment consisting of 198 cells rated at 25Ah at 3.65V. All dangerous cargo had been placed onto 2 palletes and had been loaded without problems, no observation of damage or leakages. The goods had been previously stored according to regulations. The captain had supervised the transport from the warehouse and loading of the two palettes onto position ML and PR on the aircraft. Palette MR was recovered from the sea floor, films contained in the palette showed burns and blackened traces. recovered containers 43L and 44L from the lower deck showed no signs of fire or soot. The Rails holding cargo pallets and recovered from the sea floor showed: Bottom floor: no traces of fire or soot SL: traces of soot and melting SR: traces of soot and light melting, severe corrosion PR: traces of soot and blue dye splatters, cargo net with burnt traces ML: traces of burning and soot LR: no traces of fire.   The cargo pallet positions (Graphics: ARAIB):     One package containing 12 Lithium-Ion battery cells (Photo: ARAIB):   A burnt through skin panel (Photo: ARAIB):   Cargo door L5 (Photo: ARAIB):     An Asiana Cargo Boeing 747-400, registration HL7604 performing flight OZ-991 from Seoul (South Korea) to Shanghai (China) with 2 crew, was enroute near Jeju Island (about 250nm south of Seoul) when the crew reported the cargo in the hold had caught fire and they needed to divert to Jeju Airport, then the aircraft disappeared from radar. Parts of a wing and other debris were located 130km/70nm west of Jeju. Both crew were killed. Their bodies were recovered from the sea floor 104km west of Jeju Island on Oct 30th 2011. South Korea's Transport ministry reported, the Boeing 747-400 freighter was carrying 58 tons of cargo including 0.4 tons of hazardeous materials like Lithium batteries, paint, amino acid solution and synthetic resin. The crew had reported the cargo on fire with Shanghai Center and was diverting to Jeju Airport when it crashed about 70nm west of the Island at 04:12L (19:12Z Jul 27th), 67 minutes after it had taken off Seoul. South Korea's Coast Guard reported both crew members were killed. The flightplan identified Boeing 747-400 registration HL7604. Asiana reported that radar contact with HL7604, manufactured Feb 2006, was lost at 04:11L when the aircraft was at 7600 feet MSL, the crew had reported control problems. The captain (52) had 14,123 hours flying experience, the first officer (44) had 5,211 hours flying experience. All cargo, 90% of which was standard cargo and IT products, the remainder comprised liquids (e.g., paint, resin solution, ...), was in compliance with IATA regulations. A listener on frequency of Shanghai's Air Traffic Control Center reported, that the Asiana had just checked in with Shanghai when the crew reported they had a fire in the cargo hold, Shanghai's Pudong Airport was too far away, their only possible point of diversion was Jeju. The crew's distress was clearly audible and increasing during the transmissions. A Shanghai Center Air Traffic Controller reported that the first indication of problems was the aircraft's transponder transmitting the emergency code just prior to the crew reporting on frequency near SADLI waypoint (N31.833 E124.998). The crew reported they had a cargo fire and requested to return to Seoul. The aircraft was handed off to the next sector while it was descending, the controller however watched the aircraft on his radar screen until it descended through 2400 feet and disappeared from the screen. The NTSB reported on Aug 2nd the aircraft HL7604 crashed into the sea about 70 miles west of Jeju Island after the flight crew "reportedly declared an emergency due to a cargo fire and attempted to divert to Jeju International Airport." The NTSB assigned an accredited representative as state of manufacture and participates in the investigation led by South Korea's ARAIB. Jeju's Maritime Police reported the wreckage and the bodies of the two pilots were discovered on the sea floor 104km west of Jeju Island on Sunday noon (Oct 30th) by a private salvage team hired by Asiana. The bodies were subsequently recovered from part of the fuselage which is believed to be the cockpit.                                                       Debris floating off Jeju Island         SO HAS ANOTHER BOEING 747 CRASHED DUE TO THESE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES.   WHAT CAN BE DONE?   ..............BEFORE MORE PEOPLE DIE............