Lessons to be learnt from the fire incident of Japan Airlines

livemint.com:

2007 FAA study on the flammability properties of carbon fibre composites says that the composite body in these modern aircraft retains its structure but eventually burns from the vaporization of the resin. “When it burns, the resin vapor is forced out of the fibre pores. The fibres create an insulating, char-like structure that causes a reduction in the internal heating, and consequently, the burning rate drops in time.

As the burning rate drops, extinction can naturally occur due to insufficient heating," the study says. A cross section of Indian pilot who fly widebody aircraft like the JAL aircraft felt it was a combination of things including the flight having the correct cabin crew who had the presence of mind to ensure the use of only one section of the aircraft to evacuate and ‘Kiritsu’ following which the flyers listened to the cabin crew which resulted in a quick evacuation. JAL also pays a lot of attention to its safety training – Japan has had a clean safety record for flying for over four decades.

The accident on Tuesday was the first in the last 40 years. The airline set up a Corporate Safety & Security Division in 2006 consisting of professional staff members knowledgeable about the operation, maintenance, cabins, airports and cargo. Using this organization as a source of power, JAL drives a safety management structure across the whole group.