What happened
On 22 November 1999, a Fokker F27 Mark 050, registration EI-FKE, arrived at Bristol Airport from Dublin. After taxiing to Stand E4, the crew completed standard shutdown procedures. During this period, the Air Side Safety Unit notified Air Traffic Control of a hot wheel on the aircraft.
As the airport fire service arrived to attend the scene, a flash fire ignited on the left main landing gear. At the time of the ignition, several passengers had already begun disembarking from the aircraft via normal procedures. Due to the fire, ATC declared a full emergency, and additional fire vehicles were dispatched to the stand. The fire was successfully extinguished by the responding crews.
Following the fire, an emergency evacuation was initiated. While the majority of the 50 passengers had already exited the aircraft normally, a small number of individuals jumped from the right rear door to escape.
The investigation
Investigators examined the circumstances leading to the overheating of the landing gear. The investigation established that the aircraft had been operated using a higher than normal power setting during the taxi phase into Bristol. This increased power setting necessitated the excessive use of the wheel brakes, which directly resulted in the overheating of the left wheel and the subsequent flash fire.