Plane fire at Heathrow?

[streetstream]

I have a question. When looking at Heathrow airport on Google maps, on the top right of the field, there is a Concorde parked in what seems to be a engine testing structure. Right beside it, there seems to be a burn pattern on the tarmac. I tried searching the web as to what could have caused it, but i only receive info about the Ethiopean 787 fire. Does anybody know what happend there?

Location 54.475015,-0.421939 (+54° 28'30.05",-0°25'18,98")

Edited December 29, 2013 by streetstream

[yardbird78]

I think that what you are looking at is stains on the ramp from fuel & oil leaks, tire marks and so forth. This is very normal for places where aircraft are parked in the same spot over and over.

Darwin

[vince14]

I think that what you are looking at is stains on the ramp from fuel & oil leaks, tire marks and so forth. This is very normal for places where aircraft are parked in the same spot over and over.

Darwin

I don't think it's that - none of the other parking spots at Heathrow show anything like that level of staining. It really, really looks like the aftermath of a burnt-out aircraft, but I can find no incidents to correspond with the markings - the Ethiopian 787 fire was on the other side of the airport.

Vince

[Flyboyf18]

Could it be the firefighters training area?? Would help if we had a link to the map.....

[scotthldr]

That didn't work

Edited December 29, 2013 by scotthldr

[HOLMES]

On October 21st there was a underground car park fire at Heathrow.

[HOLMES]

Well this was the news when BOEING Dreamliner 787 caught fire and a small video in the report is included..

<_<

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23294760

[HOLMES]

I wonder if someone can find it using this link..I blooming well cannot. :bandhead2:/

It has that orangey man that one uses.. North Perimeter road is good ...you get to see airliners...close to the fence...

http://www.earth-scout.com/google-street-view.php?q=HEATHROW%20AIRPORT

The airport is at end of Tunnel Road West...

Edited December 29, 2013 by HOLMES

[Stephen]

I work out of Heathrow and the only incident involving a fire this year that I'm aware of that involved an aircraft was the Ethiopian 787.

Stephen

[vince14]

Go to Googlemaps and search for Esher Crescent TW6 - you'll see the 'burnt' area near the Concorde (put it in 'Earth' view rather than 'maps'). It's not the fire training area, that's further South (near Exeter Road), whilst the Ethiopian 787 which caught fire was located next to the grey roofed building on Sandringham Road.

Vince

Edited December 29, 2013 by vince14

[streetstream]

Could it be the firefighters training area?? Would help if we had a link to the map.....

It is not a fire fighter training area, because they have a mock plane to do that. It is located 750 meters to the southwest of the point i'm refuring to. It looks like a green twin-engined 747.

Here is a picture of what i mean:

Edited December 29, 2013 by streetstream

[Bigasshammm]

Here you go.

Definitely looks weird. Maybe where they clean the planes? Or a chemical spill? Been there a while though look at all the marks of moving planes in n out of that spot.

[streetstream]

Here you go.

Definitely looks weird. Maybe where they clean the planes? Or a chemical spill? Been there a while though look at all the marks of moving planes in n out of that spot.

It seems to me (and again it is just a theory) that a plane caught fire there, was removed and that later planes parked there and on hot days, spread the black stains.

[Pete]

If you go to that spot in Google Earth (not Maps), you can select older imagery as well, in this case going back to 1945, when it was still farmland. The next moment in time Google Earth has is 1999, and there's already a big stain there, not quite as dirty, but it's definitly there.

About the fire theory. Wouldn't a plane on fire produce quite a lot of heat, causing the concrete to crack under it? Not something you want on an airport with running engines and such. If there was a fire, I would think they resurfaced the affected area quite soon afterwards.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Pete

[scotthldr]

It does look like an aircraft has caught fire, however if this was the case any fire damaged concrete/tarmac would be lifted and replaced asap as burnt concrete/tarmac breaks down easily creating a FOD hazard.

It looks to me like a wash down area of some sort where the apron dips and the water and dirt collects.

[streetstream]

Thanks for thta input Pete. I does change everything. The theory that it is a washing area could be valid.

Some more searching suggests that it could indeed be a plane washing area. But i still wonder why that spot is really dirty, and the rest isn't.

Edited December 29, 2013 by streetstream

[Scooby]

I found another map and it is listed as a maintenance area. I bet it is a wash area. Based on the earlier images it does look like the staining has built up over time.

I also think, but not certain, the Ethiopian 787 may have been parked their with the tents erected over it when it was repaired. There is one image where the Tarmac painted curved markings looks to be the same and a few of the buildings look similar. But as I mentioned, I am not certain of this.

Perhaps the green fire trainer is cleaned/ repaired there.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Scooby

[Pete]

Perhaps the green fire trainer is cleaned/ repaired there.

No. These kind of fire training "planes" are not real planes that can be moved around. These are fixed rigs, connected to all kinds of fuelpipes and whatnot to create the fires in it. Even if it was a real plane, think of what would happen to the structural integrity of it if you put it on fire regularly, and the wheels. Not a very safe thing to tug around an airport.

Here's a pic of it during a fire training, you can see it's fixed to the ground: Click me

[Scooby]

Just had another thought, in the Airforce we had a designated hot brake area. That is likely what we are looking at here.

Brakes would be extinguished/ cooled in those areas. This is away from the terminals and is a likely location. The pattern looks like both the mains and nose wheels have been worked on.

With Heathrow being one of the busiest airports in the world they would have a high number of hot brakes. Brakes are made of magnesium so this is an area of great concern in airfield operations. We used a special extinguisher (METLEX) for these fires due to the high temperatures involved (H2O & CO2 would explode, due to their molecules being torn apart).

The skid marks from the nose are what I would expect a problem with nose- wheel steering or a blown tire. So the area could also be used for all gear emergencies.

It is a straight in angled spot too,which would give the firefighters better access to the aircraft.

[Scooby]

No. These kind of fire training "planes" are not real planes that can be moved around. These are fixed rigs, connected to all kinds of fuelpipes and whatnot to create the fires in it. Even if it was a real plane, think of what would happen to the structural integrity of it if you put it on fire regularly, and the wheels. Not a very safe thing to tug around an airport.

Here's a pic of it during a fire training, you can see it's fixed to the ground: Click me

I know how they are constructed and I know what Heathrows trainer looks like.

They do have trolley wheels to move. We move ours at our airport when it requires maintenance. Occasionally the components are burnt out and require replacement in our repair facility.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Scooby

[streetstream]

Just had another thought, in the Airforce we had a designated hot brake area. That is likely what we are looking at here.

Brakes would be extinguished/ cooled in those areas. This is away from the terminals and is a likely location. The pattern looks like both the mains and nose wheels have been worked on.

With Heathrow being one of the busiest airports in the world they would have a high number of hot brakes. Brakes are made of magnesium so this is an area of great concern in airfield operations. We used a special extinguisher (METLEX) for these fires due to the high temperatures involved (H2O & CO2 would explode, due to their molecules being torn apart).

The skid marks from the nose are what I would expect a problem with nose- wheel steering or a blown tire. So the area could also be used for all gear emergencies.

It is a straight in angled spot too,which would give the firefighters better access to the aircraft.

Another valid theory there. Does make more sense than a cleaning area because it is just the one spot that has the dirt and there are more than one spaces where they clean airplanes.

[Scooby]

Another valid theory there. Does make more sense than a cleaning area because it is just the one spot that has the dirt and there are more than one spaces where they clean airplanes.

I think that is what it is, hot brakes would leave staining from burning rubber and actual brake fires.

The spot is close to the taxiway exit from the runway (although not as close as I would like it) and is away from people at the main terminal. The same spot is always used so everyone required to respond knows where to go.

METLEX, is a dry chemical used to fight these fires.

[bzn20]

That's a (definite) wash pan. Imagine all that carbon from the brakes and general muck around the center section. Magnesium brakes? forget that. an inflammable metal used as a heat pack? Wheels can be Mag alloy. But not mag brakes, ever. There isn't a hot brake area either. You get the thing sorted soonest not tow the kite to a special area, if needed the taxiway. Fire crews don't want a fire towing around the airport. If they're smoking for brakes we use DRY POWDER, the light (ish) blue ones.

[streetstream]

That's a (definite) wash pan. Imagine all that carbon from the brakes and general muck around the center section.

It is a cleaning area for sure, but why is only that spot so dirty when in the picture i posted earlier, you can see that there are several cleaning areas next to one another?

There isn't a hot brake area either. You get the thing sorted soonest not tow the kite to a special area, if needed the taxiway. Fire crews don't want a fire towing around the airport. If they're smoking for brakes we use DRY POWDER, the light (ish) blue ones.

Isn't it so that planes are advised to keep rolling untill fire crews get there. I assumed the most dangerous thing to do is stop when no fire engines are present. Wouldn't it be better to keep rolling to a designated area and have the fire crew meet you there at the time you arrive?

[Scooby]

That's a (definite) wash pan. Imagine all that carbon from the brakes and general muck around the center section. Magnesium brakes? forget that. an inflammable metal used as a heat pack? Wheels can be Mag alloy. But not mag brakes, ever. There isn't a hot brake area either. You get the thing sorted soonest not tow the kite to a special area, if needed the taxiway. Fire crews don't want a fire towing around the airport. If they're smoking for brakes we use DRY POWDER, the light (ish) blue ones.

I've never seen a wash pan with that pattern. And brakes do have magnesium in them, not just the wheels. I didn't say the disks were magnesium.

Met-L-X is class D (dry chemical) and they are light blue (although I have seen some in red with the d label). In Canada they are light blue.

All airfields have a designated hot brake area. I didn't suggest the aircraft would be towed there. A hot brake area is located just off the main runway, away from the exit so it doesn't block other traffic. The aircraft taxis to it to keep cooling air flowing and so the firefighters can get set up.