Fire and explosion

Occurrences that began with a fire or an explosion, before any impact - in flight, and on the ground during engine starts, taxiing and refuelling. Fires that broke out after a crash are not in this collection.

In the air, a fire gives a crew minutes at best to get the aircraft down, which is why the first advice is always to land as soon as possible.

More collections

• Came apart in the air Structural failures in flight: wings, tails and doors that separated from the aircraft.
• Bird strikes From a gull through a windscreen to geese in both engines of an airliner.
• Airliner turbulence Why the seatbelt sign matters: airliner turbulence, windshear and storm encounters.
• Off the end: airline overruns and undershoots Airliners that ran off the end of the runway, or touched down before reaching it.