A foaming incident occurred after a fire extinguishing system was activated in American Airlines hangar, at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) yesterday.
At the time of the incident, two American Airlines Boeing 787s, registration unknown, were parked at the hangar. It is unclear if any additional aircraft were in the hangar at the same time.
Source says that the automated fire suppression system was activated by accident. In the video below, it is possible to see the huge quantity of fire retardant foam falling on the aircraft. There is no report of any injuries.
A fire suppression system is mandatory in maintenance hangars; it can fill the hanger in minutes and prevents a fire from spreading to any aircraft, also minimising any damage to the building itself.
This incident could be very expensive for American Airlines. Fire retardant foam, like the one in the images, is highly corrosive to an aircraft; this is due to the chemical components that help extinguish the flames. All the parts affected by the foam need to be carefully analysed and then cleaned.
Early this month, a similiar incident occured in British Airways hangar.
Last year, a foaming incident occurred at a Delta Air Lines hangar at Los Angeles.
Article Source and Feature Image: Twitter