Good morning all This was sent to me over night by a German friend of mine.
As you can see, no mention was made of the type of battery used here. From my visits to the AERO trade fair I know that some manufacturers use LiPo Batteries. They have the best power to weight ratio but they are known to be extremely dangerous. I will attempt to find out if this type of battery was installed in this glider. Kind regards to all Bernard > From UK, newspaper report: > > > > > The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has made a safety recommendation after > a sailplane burst into flames shortly after landing in Parham Airfield. On > August 10, 2017, the glider sailplane set off from the airfield between > Storrington and Pulborough at 10.21am for a flight lasting approximately two > hours. The glider was flown normally to a smooth touchdown, according to the > AAIB, until the pilot heard an ‘unexpected noise’. The AAIB report said: “As > the glider slowed during the ground run, the pilot smelled burning and the > cockpit filled with smoke that was moving forwards from behind the pilot’s > head. “He vacated the cockpit normally, without injury, and observed that the > Front Electric Sustainer (FES) battery compartment cover was missing and that > smoke, followed shortly by flames, was coming from the battery compartment. > “The airfield fire truck arrived promptly and an initial attempt was made to > extinguish the fire using a CO2 gaseous extinguisher, but this proved > unsuccessful. “Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) was then sprayed into the FES > battery compartment and the fire was extinguished.” > > > The pilot was the only person on board the glider, according to the AAIB. > > He did not report observing any warning messages or illuminated LEDs, when > asked by the AAIB, although his attention was drawn outside the cockpit > during landing. > > The AAIB report found existing FES battery installations ‘do not provide > sufficient warning’ to a pilot of a fire. > > As a result, the AAIB made a safety recommendation that ‘all powered > sailplanes fitted with an FES system, must be equipped with a warning system > to alert the pilot to the presence of a fire in the FES battery compartment’. > > The AAIB investigation confirmed the ‘origin of the fire’ was the forward FES > battery. > > The report added: “Its battery box was ruptured along the rear left corner > and the battery assembly was heavily fire damaged. > > “The rear FES battery box suffered from external fire damage although the > internal components were only slightly damaged and the cells remained charged. > > “The FES battery compartment was heavily fire damaged. > > > > see also > > https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-special-bulletin-s3-2017-on-hph-glasflugel-304-es-g-gsgs > > <https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-special-bulletin-s3-2017-on-hph-glasflugel-304-es-g-gsgs> > http://www.front-electric-sustainer.com/news.php > <http://www.front-electric-sustainer.com/news.php> > http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/20170906EASAAD20170167E.pdf > <http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/20170906EASAAD20170167E.pdf> > >
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