N610RL

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn April 16, 2015, about 1910 eastern daylight time, a Dassault-Breguet, Mystere Falcon 900B, N610RL, owned and operated by RLB Holdings Transportation LLC., received minor damage from an inflight electrical fire. The airplane had departed Westchester County Airport (HPN), White Plains, New York about 1715, destined for the Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando, Florida. The pilot, copilot, cabin attendant, and 12 passengers were not injured. The corporate flight was being operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91.

According to the cabin attendant, she noticed "a weird smell" in the galley area and started checking the appliances. She could find nothing wrong with them and asked the pilots if they had any idea where the smell was coming from. She turned around and opened the area in the galley that they kept the glasses (crystal) in and noticed "a glow behind it." The pilot then came back to assist her. He grabbed a fire extinguisher, discharged it completely, and then asked her for another one. She handed him the second one and he was able to put out the fire. The pilot then told her to watch the area.

According to the pilot, they noticed the strange odor when they were on the Standard Terminal Arrival Route (STAR) for MCO descending through 20,000 feet above mean sea level. They checked that all the ovens, microwaves, and warmers were in the "off" position. All were found to be "off", but the smell continued and then smoke appeared. The crew declared an emergency and asked for priority to the nearest airport. The pilot then "gave the flight controls" to the copilot who took over flying and the radio duties (the autopilot was on and engaged). The copilot then turned off the power to the cabin and to the galley. The pilot then used a fire extinguisher to extinguish fire. The fire was suppressed by getting behind the crystal storage and spraying the area with a Halon portable fire bottle. The crew decided to continue to Orlando as it had large runways with excellent fire and rescue capabilities. The landing was normal. The crew evacuated the passengers and fire personnel double checked the airplane for any signs of continued fire or hot spots. None were found.

According to the copilot, they noticed a smell at first and then smoke from somewhere in the airplane when they were on the STAR for MCO at approximately 1910. They determined that it was coming from the galley area, declared an emergency, and asked for vectors to the nearest airport. After the sight of smoke, and the cabin attendant assuring that everything was powered off, the pilot "gave the controls" to him. The pilot then went back into the cabin to assist the flight attendant by spraying the galley area with a halon fire extinguisher. No more smoking was observed so they decided to continue to MCO for an "abnormal approach and landing" with priority from air traffic control. After landing they could see signs of burnt wiring behind the galley.

PERSONNEL INFORMATIONPilot

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and pilot records, the pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with a rating for airplane multi-engine land and airplane single-engine land. Commercial privileges for airplane single-engine sea, rotorcraft-helicopter, and instrument helicopter. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single and multi-engine, rotorcraft-helicopter, and instrument airplane and helicopter, as well as type ratings for the BAE-125, BE-400, CE-750, DA-50, G-1159, IA-JET, LR-JET, and MU-300.

His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on November 18, 2014. He reported that he had accrued 6,200 total hours of flight experience, 500 of which was in the incident airplane make and model.

Copilot

According to FAA and pilot records, the copilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, and airplane multi-engine land. Commercial privileges for airplane single-engine sea. He also held a flight instructor certificate with ratings for airplane single engine, and instrument airplane, as well as type ratings for the BE-300, and DA-50.

His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on September 9, 2014. He reported that he had accrued 5,200 total hours of flight experience, 180 of which was in the incident airplane make and model.

Cabin Attendant

At the time of the accident, the cabin attendant had been serving as a crew member on the Falcon 900 for 3 years. Her most recent recurrent training had occurred in the Fall of 2014, at Flight Safety International's Teterboro Learning Center where she had attended the Corporate Cabin Attendant and General Emergency Training Course for corporate and general aviation aircraft. The course met the minimum recommendations for International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) certification, as well as many of the regulatory requirements for 14 CFR Part 135.331.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe incident airplane was a long-range, swept wing, executive jet of conventional metal construction designed to accommodate up to 19 passengers. It was equipped with retractable landing gear and was powered by three Garrett TFE 731-5BR-1C geared turbofan engines, each producing 4,750 pounds of takeoff thrust.

The fuselage consisted of the nose cone, the cockpit, the passenger cabin, the rear lavatory, the baggage compartment, the rear compartment, the auxiliary power unit and the No. 2 engine compartment (with its thrust reverser).

The cockpit, passenger cabin, and baggage compartment were pressurized. The baggage compartment was accessible in flight.

According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1988 in Merignac, France by Dassault Aviation SA. It was then ferried in "green" condition to Dassault Falcon Jet's Little Rock, Arkansas completion center where the passenger oxygen system was installed under an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) and Dassault Falcon Jet routing instructions. Additional avionics, and the interior was also installed, and the exterior was painted. It was completed in 1989. The airplane's most recent continuous airworthiness inspection was completed on April 13, 2015. At the time of the incident; the airplane had accrued approximately 9,949 total hours of operation.

During the 26 intervening years between the completion of the airplane at Dassault Falcon Jet's completion center and the incident, multiple C Checks (which are performed every 3,750 flight cycles or 72 months) had occurred, which required portions of the airplane's interior to be removed. During this same time period, numerous modifications had been made to the airplane by several maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organizations including multiple lighting, interior, and galley modifications, which required rerouting and re-securing of wiring, as well as removal and replacement of interior panels, partitions, and cabinetry, in the vicinity of the area of the fire.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe recorded weather at MCO, at 1853, included: wind 040°at 11 knots, 7 miles visibility, scattered clouds at 6,000 feet, broken clouds at 8,000 feet, temperature 23° C, dew point 22° C, and an altimeter setting of 30.08 inches of mercury.

AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe incident airplane was a long-range, swept wing, executive jet of conventional metal construction designed to accommodate up to 19 passengers. It was equipped with retractable landing gear and was powered by three Garrett TFE 731-5BR-1C geared turbofan engines, each producing 4,750 pounds of takeoff thrust.

The fuselage consisted of the nose cone, the cockpit, the passenger cabin, the rear lavatory, the baggage compartment, the rear compartment, the auxiliary power unit and the No. 2 engine compartment (with its thrust reverser).

The cockpit, passenger cabin, and baggage compartment were pressurized. The baggage compartment was accessible in flight.

According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1988 in Merignac, France by Dassault Aviation SA. It was then ferried in "green" condition to Dassault Falcon Jet's Little Rock, Arkansas completion center where the passenger oxygen system was installed under an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) and Dassault Falcon Jet routing instructions. Additional avionics, and the interior was also installed, and the exterior was painted. It was completed in 1989. The airplane's most recent continuous airworthiness inspection was completed on April 13, 2015. At the time of the incident; the airplane had accrued approximately 9,949 total hours of operation.

During the 26 intervening years between the completion of the airplane at Dassault Falcon Jet's completion center and the incident, multiple C Checks (which are performed every 3,750 flight cycles or 72 months) had occurred, which required portions of the airplane's interior to be removed. During this same time period, numerous modifications had been made to the airplane by several maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organizations including multiple lighting, interior, and galley modifications, which required rerouting and re-securing of wiring, as well as removal and replacement of interior panels, partitions, and cabinetry, in the vicinity of the area of the fire.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONExamination of the area behind the crystal storage area of the galley by maintenance personnel from J & M Aircraft Services and Duncan Aviation, revealed the presence of sooting, and the remains of a burnt wiring bundle behind the plenum ducting.

Further examination by Duncan Aviation personnel revealed that the plenum ducting had no edge protection strip (caterpillar strip) or anti-chafe material installed on the sharp edge of the plenum ducting, the burnt wiring bundle contained the 28-v...