Originally Posted by
ForeverFO
Some interesting (and grim) questions have been brought forward here.
Over water, nearest concrete 3 hours away - do you ditch? When? Lacking additional information, if the smoke is so thick you can barely see, one must conclude that hull integrity or flight controls may be compromised, and ditching might be preferable to limping along.
How about windows? If possible, go low, depressurize the airplane, and open a window. Would it work? Would you freeze rather than burn?
From a fire behavior standpoint adding high flow air would almost certainly rapidly and catastrophically increase fire spread. Wind driven fires are dangerous entities indeed.
Only a few ways to put out a fire. Remove the heat. Remove the oxygen. Or remove the fuel (whatever is burning)
Staying at altitude and depressurizing may work, unless the materials burning are producing their own oxygen, not uncommon with many dangerous goods.