Cessna 550 Smoke Incident at Rouyn-Noranda Airport

Flight Details and Emergency Response On the afternoon of October 6, 2000, a Cessna Citation II, registration C-FJCZ, serial number 550-0700, departed Rouyn-Noranda Airport, Quebec, at 1745 EST for an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight to Montréal/Dorval International Airport. The aircraft, operating as Transport 858, carried two pilots and one passenger. The crew was cleared to climb to 5,000 feet above sea level (asl). During the initial climb, the takeoff proceeded normally until the aircraft leveled off at 5,000 feet asl, when the captain noticed smoke behind the first officer's seat. The crew donned oxygen masks and declared an emergency, requesting to return to Rouyn-Noranda Airport under visual flight rules (VFR). The captain had difficulty with his oxygen mask and headset, while the first officer struggled with communications and the mask. The crew communicated via hand signals and completed the Environmental Smoke and Odour checklist, turning off the overhead and defog fans, which reduced the smoke. The aircraft landed normally on Runway 08 and taxied to the terminal, where the occupants evacuated without injury.