Fires in cargo? Simple.

Create "bomb door" compartmentalized storage units each with it's own bay, and simply pull the lever. The loss of some baggage is expected and a small sacrifice for saving lives. With the main conflagration gone, it would also be simpler to address the incidences of crossover into adjacent units, as now there is working room. The technical issues would need to be ironed out. It would call for a redesign of new aircraft of course.

 

So a pallet smashes through a school and kills 30 kindergartners?

 

JNB,

Might be better than "throwing" the whole plane and burning cargo at them!

OP

There's a lot more to cargo jettison than it looks like.

GF

 

Is it? Ever dealt with an onboard fire?

What class of compartment? Do you know how fires are handled presently?

Simple, you say?

At what weight gain for the aircraft? With what altitude and airspeed and configuration limitations?

With what changes to the center of gravity? Every kicked heavy loads off an aircraft in flight with massive weight and balance changes? I have. I do regularly. There are aircraft control issues among other things.

With separate fireproof compartments, aside from the aircraft complexity and weight gain for the doors and compartmentalization, each segment would require its own door, with considerable changes and weight gain to the structure, just to load the cargo. Very quickly, no need for cargo, because the weight that could have been carried is now structural...to what end?

You're aware that presently there are more than one cargo area, and depending on the class, have multiple means of addressing a fire including smoke routing, smoke detection, fire detection, fire suppression, depressurization, and other means of detecting and addressing a potential fire?

 

Surely not large burlap wrapped bales... 🙄

Kidding aside. I agree that this is a ridiculous idea.

 

I have no idea, but they say every change has a beginning. The current system can't ensure safety, and is designed to getting everything crammed in as quick as possible. The baggage people although diligent in their work, cannot be expected to scan for every condition that is a potential for chemical or spontaneous combustion.

I think it was the FEDEX flight into Dubai that is a good incentive for bay re-design(lithium batteries I recall). As a result of this horrific case, they tried and tested new designs of fireproof containers. No answer was found to the problem.

The flight issues you mention can be handled in training on the newly designed model. But we are speaking of exceptions, not the rule. Perhaps the experiences of Lancaster
aircraft could be incorporated. I believe they would have experienced the extremes and know the effects. I think the bays loaded to 5 tons, can't be sure.

The Air Force could be involved in the design as well using technology of the transports, etc.

 

Of course.

 

...And the odds are?

 

I looked at your profile and you didn't list any aircraft design/engineering background. If you can cite some real ideas, we'd be pleased listen, but right now you are an unknown.

I have a lot of time in military transports who have inherent jettison (airdrop) provisions--cargo fires were addressed with Halon flooding, large extinguishers or depressurization before any thought of jettison.

GF

 

It was already a given that you have no idea what you're talking about. No need to go out of your way to make it glaringly obvious.

The USAF doesnt design aircraft. See the former response.

That you're on the ignore list? 100%.

Brook no trolls.

We dont do odds, any more than we guess. We know.

You don't.