What happened
On December 9, 2012, an Airbus A320 was conducting a scheduled flight from Berlin-Schönefeld to Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) with 134 passengers and six crew members on board. Approximately ten minutes after reaching cruise altitude, the crew detected an electrical odor that transitioned into the smell of burning plastic. Shortly thereafter, white smoke began to develop in the forward cockpit area.
In response to the developing situation, the crew donned oxygen masks and declared an emergency. While cruising at FL 350, approximately 80 nautical miles north of Stuttgart, the crew decided to divert to Stuttgart Airport. Following an approved descent, the co-pilot handed control to the captain at FL 100. The aircraft performed an overweight landing at a weight of 68 tonnes on runway 25 under CAT-I conditions.
Upon landing, the crew executed the full emergency evacuation procedure. Once the aircraft came to a halt, the crew established contact with the fire services via VHF. Because no smoke was visible outside the aircraft and the cockpit smoke had dissipated, the crew opted for a controlled passenger evacuation using stairs. Passengers were transferred to the terminal via buses. There were no injuries among the passengers, though two flight attendants were taken to a hospital for precautionary medical examinations, which yielded no findings.
The investigation
The BFU examined the aircraft to identify the source of the smoke and odor. Investigators focused their search on the avionics compartment located beneath the cockpit. During the inspection, the radar transceiver was identified as the potential source of the electrical odor and smoke. The component was removed and sent to a specialized workshop for further analysis.
Findings
- The investigation identified the radar transceiver as the likely cause of the smoke and electrical odor.
- There was no evidence of a widespread pattern of similar failures involving this specific type of equipment.