RuAviation

On 8th January 2022, an aviation incident occurred at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport: a Tu-204C freighter (RA-64032) belonging to AviaStar-Tu caught fire while preparing for departure to Novosibirsk. There were eight personnel onboard: a crew of three, two engineering staff, and three attendants, all of whom successfully evacuated and were unharmed.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) conducted an investigation, which determined that the cause of the fire was a malfunction in the electrical power system. Combustible materials ignited in an oxygen-enriched environment due to thermal effects. The final report has been posted on the CAAC website; the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has published an English language version.

“The Interstate Aviation Committee informs that the investigation into the aviation accident involving the Tu-204C RA-64032 operated by AviaStar-Tu LLC, which occurred on 08/01/2022 at Hangzhou Airport (PRC), has been completed. The investigation was conducted by the CAAC. The final investigation report in Chinese has been published on the CAAC website. The IAC website publishes a translation of the Final Report from Chinese into English, as produced by the CAAC. The English translation is provided for reference only; the Chinese version is authoritative,” the IAC stated.

The flight crew followed procedure: upon detection of smoke, the service door was opened, and the captain gave the order to evacuate. The source of the fire was located on the lower right-hand side of the flight deck, beneath the co-pilot’s instrument panel. Flames spread throughout the flight deck and subsequently into the cargo hold. The ingress of air through the opened emergency exits contributed to the rapid fire propagation.

Hangzhou Airport Fire & Rescue Service received notification of the fire at 04:38:17; the first fire appliance arrived at the scene at 04:41:08. Approximately 20 tonnes of cargo and 26 tonnes of aviation fuel were onboard, which significantly hampered firefighting efforts; the fire was eventually contained after five hours.

The CAAC commission classified the incident as an aviation accident. As a result of the fire, the aircraft was almost completely destroyed, beyond economic repair.