Accessible Oxygen
Oxygen mask hoses in airliner cockpits should be made longer to ensure that pilots have full access to emergency equipment located in the cockpit, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says.
In a safety recommendation letter to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the NTSB cited the circumstances surrounding the May 16, 2010, fire in the windshield heat terminal connection in the cockpit of a United Airlines Boeing 757-200 during a flight from New York to Los Angeles. The flight crew diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia. None of the 112 people in the airplane was injured.
The NTSB said that the probable cause was the ignition of a power terminal on the captain’s windshield because of a loose electrical connection. The captain told NTSB accident investigators that he had donned his oxygen mask and smoke goggles because of the acrid odor in the cockpit; soon afterward, he left his seat “…
