Does someone here have any information they can share about the fire suppression system being set off in a MN hangar?
Im hearing that it may have been triggered by a CAPS activation.
Joe G
Someone on reddit made that claim Tuesday:
https://old.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1cxfw1w/bubble_machines_got_set_off_at_my_local_field/
“Bubble Machines got set off at my local field yesterday evening, creating this mess on the field. Story was a Cirrus Parachute went off in someone’s hands, tripping the fire alarms. Hands are still attached, but the person was brought to the hospital.”
Thanks, Im very curious as to how the caps was set off.
Since I am the only pilot that flies my airplane I never put the CAPS pin in. Is that bad? Can CAPS just activate spontaneously?
This appears to have occurred during a maintenance event, otherwise the person’s hands would have been nowhere near the chute/rocket.
Hi Sukumar! I don’t know if “bad” is the right word. Maybe unwise is better? Maybe you’re not the one who could accidentaly pull the discharge handle. What if you have a passenger one day and when you’re not looking, they pull on it as they’re climbing out of the plane - or even lowering themselves into it;or perhaps a small child.
Boom! There goes a negligent discharge of your CAPS. Now the question is: would the pin have been wise/worth it to use?
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Thanks for the wisdom @DeltaGolfAviation, makes perfect sense. I just capitalized my shutdown checklist item (in Garmin Pilot) to insert CAPS pin back.
What airport?
Looks like TCA’s facility in Blain, MN (KANE)
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Nice move! I totally get it, though. It’s easy to leave the pin out, and as the sole occupant, how would the handle ever get pulled. But sometimes, just sometimes, Murphy prevails. And at a minimum of $22K (just for the chute, not the heartache, embarasement, FAA conversation, hangar damage, etc), I’m not looking to give Mr. Murphy the benefit of the doubt!
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This is correct and Confirmed!
If indeed was maintenance, imagine the poor owner after waiting 12 months for parts repack….
And everyone else’s aircraft who got foamed.
Very sorry to see this, glad no-one was more seriously injured or killed.
I attach my ignition key to the chute pin ring. This way the plane never gets started without having the pin removed.
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Uggggh. That foam is nasty stuff. Awful.
Apparently that’s not necessarily the case anymore, as they have a “sudsy” foam now that is benign.
Oh, that’s good. Well, fingers crossed for everyone whose plane/equipment was in that hangar that it was the new sudsy variety!
A biodegradable soy based product certified earlier this year. US farmers funded development via the soy checkoff program.
https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/soybeans/farm-fire-first-soybased-fire-suppressant-hits-market