CH-46 on fire

Damn lucky they were still on deck and had just pulled into a hover when the fire erupted.

Does the Phrog have automatically deployed fire bottles or are they manual blow bottles? Couldn't tell from this if they went off or not.   We blew one on a CRJ here last week.....oooops!

David  

Don't know if it would have worked the fire spread to the cabin pretty fast.  on -60 's the firebottles only dump into the engine bay. 

It's amazing how fast that fire spread.  Fuel, oil, hydraulic fluid, and paint make it very hot, very quick.  Good work on the aircrew's part.  I wonder what caused it.  Poor Phrog. 

Semper Fi,

Chris

linking around on the site I found this big back piece.

http://shock.military.com/Shock/tattoos.do?displayContent=162804&page=2

BTW I have a G model snake with sharks' teeth on my left chest

David

ridleusmc wrote:

It's amazing how fast that fire spread.  Fuel, oil, hydraulic fluid, and paint make it very hot, very quick.  Good work on the aircrew's part.  I wonder what caused it.  Poor Phrog.  Semper Fi, Chris

Hyd lines. 

 At least that's what a 46 Flightline guy I'm currently in the Staff Academy with said.  He added that there was an airframes change either moving or changing the lines (he wasn't real clear), because they would rub on the upper door and well, I guess we all saw the results.  Happened more than once, according to him, and not just at low altitude :O

PatlaborUnit1 wrote:

Damn lucky they were still on deck and had just pulled into a hover when the fire erupted. Does the Phrog have automatically deployed fire bottles or are they manual blow bottles? Couldn't tell from this if they went off or not.   We blew one on a CRJ here last week.....oooops! David

'46s are equipped with two fire bottles for the engine bays that are activated in the cockpit by pulling the "fire-pull handles". 

This fire erupted further aft than the engine bays. Impossible to tell what caused it, but if I had to guess and given the area, I'd say it may have been a generator fire that quickly spread.

Jonathan Primm

I talked to a buddy of mine at work who was a crew cheese for HMM-266 at New River (actually while I was at NR).  He said that Generator Fires weren't common, but they have happened in the past.  It's kind of funny how 2 guys could be stationed at the same small airstation at the same time and never meet until they're both employed together outside the Marine Corps. 

Semper Fi,

Chris