A Condor flight on an Airbus A330 from Frankfurt, Germany to Cancún in Mexico, with over 300 passengers on board had to be diverted after the pilot spilled coffee in the cockpit.
The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) released a statement recently about the flight, which took place in February, saying that ‘the hot coffee damaged the pilot’s Audio Control Panel (ACP) ‘and later, the ACP on the co-pilot’s side.’
‘During the failures, the ACPs became very hot and produced an electrical burning smell and smoke.’ The captain, who had 13,135 hours of flying experience, then decided to divert to Shannon, Republic of Ireland. ‘The failure of two ACPs caused significant communication difficulty for the flight crew,’ the report stated.
The AAIB report image shows the two audio control panels (ACP) that were damaged in the spill Image credit: Air Accidents Investigation Branch
According to the AAIB report, despite the recommendation from Airbus that pilots use the cup holders provided for beverages, the 49-year-old captain had placed his cup of coffee (which a crew member had given him without a lid) on a tray table – where objects are ‘vulnerable to being knocked over’.
According to the Guardian, ‘Condor has responded to the incident by ensuring cup lids are provided on all flights, reminding pilots to be careful with liquids and supplying cups that are an appropriate size for cup holders.’
A spokeswoman for the airline said: ‘Flight DE2116 from Frankfurt to Cancún on 6 February 2019 diverted to Shannon airport as a precautionary measure due to a minor amount of smoke in the cockpit after a liquid spillage.’
‘After the aircraft was fully inspected and repaired by our team of engineers, the flight continued via Manchester due to the legal operating hours of the crew. We have comprehensively investigated this incident and reviewed the procedures of liquids in the cockpit.’
‘Our crews were reminded of [the need for] careful handling as well as to use appropriate containers for their water or coffee. We apologise for any inconveniences the diversion might have caused to our guests.’
Featured image: Condor
