B737-800 inbound and outbound flight crews reported extensive water damage to the cockpit and related systems after a cockpit sliding window was left open after an aircraft reposition. The aircraft was shut down and logbook entries made; with the aircraft being turned over to maintenance.
Synopsis
B737-800 inbound and outbound flight crews reported extensive water damage to the cockpit and related systems after a cockpit sliding window was left open after an aircraft reposition. The aircraft was shut down and logbook entries made; with the aircraft being turned over to maintenance.
Narrative
Upon arriving at ZZZ; to preflight for [the flight]; we discovered that our aircraft was not on the assigned gate and was instead parked on a hard stand and that we would need to wait for the tow crew to bring it to the gate. The assigned aircraft was coincidentally the aircraft that we brought in on [a previous flight]. We had written up a discrepancy on the forward lavatory; coordinated with Maintenance Control; and informed the outbound crew of the discrepancy before departing the airport for our hotel. The lavatory was ultimately put on an MEL placard and the outbound crew refused the aircraft. We were informed by the manager on duty that the outbound crew had assisted station personnel by repositioning the aircraft to a hardstand to remain overnight. When the aircraft arrived at the gate; we were informed that both pilot seats were soaked with water as a result of at least one of the cockpit windows being left open overnight while parked at the hardstand. ZZZ experienced heavy rains overnight. I directed the agents not to begin loading passengers or bags until we had the opportunity to assess the water situation. We inspected the cockpit and additionally found water on the deck; captain's side console around the O2 mask and in cup holders; and on the center console. Condensation was apparent in transponder and radio tuning windows and in some backlit buttons such as the cargo fire lights. Attempting to zero out the transponder; I discovered that the device was not tunable. We elected to continue preflighting to identify any other issues and assess whether we could proceed with the flight. We then noted that some of the water (with a brown appearance on the deck beneath the fire extinguisher) that we had mopped up; had reappeared and it was clearly seeping out from the forward electrical load center/circuit breaker panel behind the copilot's seat. Around the same time; the transponder 'Fail' light illuminated; followed by an effusion smoke and electrical fire fumes from the base of it's tuning knobs. We secured all electrical power and shutdown the APU; after which the smoke/electrical fire stopped. The cabin crew egressed the aircraft by way of the main cabin door and jetbridge. We wrote up discrepancies for the transponder; presence of water in instruments and need for inspection; and the water seeping from behind the electrical panel and turned the aircraft over to contract maintenance. No injuries resulted. I believe that there is possibly extensive damage due to the water in electrical components.It appears that the crew (or other person involved in that evolution) that repositioned the aircraft to the hardstand left at least one cockpit window open when they departed the aircraft on the previous evening. The open window was the hole that allowed water to enter cockpit and damage equipment. Leaving the cockpit with an open window is not a normal configuration and should have struck someone as an unmitigated risk. The secure checklist does not however include 'windows-closed and locked' as the before start checklist does. Symmetry between start and shutdown lists could have made the necessity of closing windows more apparent.
Second reporter narrative
We arrived at ZZZ airport an hour early for a XA00 am Departure only to find that our aircraft was not at the gate. Another flight was boarding. We waited only to find out that our aircraft was in fact on a hard stand and would need to be towed over. That took a while because the ramp ended up shutting down for a short amount of time due to thunderstorms passing thru the area. I should mention that it was raining when we drove in to the airport. The ramp reopened and the ground crew along with a station manager towed the aircraft to a new gate. Upon arrival at the gate the station manager met us at the jet bridge to inform us that she had brought the plane over from the parking area. She also informed us that the cockpit seats were drenched in water because the crew from the day before who moved the aircraft off the gate left the cockpit windows open.We decided to check out the cockpit before allowing the gate agents to board the airplane. Upon arrival to the cockpit we noticed brown water on the floor. We mopped the cockpit floor up. The Manager had placed plastic bags over the CA (Captain) and FO (First Officer) seats and the station personnel brought us about 10 blankets in hopes that we could fly the plane from ZZZ to ZZZ1 and not sit in a puddle of water. During pre-flight we noticed that the transponder window had moisture in it. We also noticed that you could not change the transponder code. The transponder fail light was on. It started to appear that the amount of water that had entered the cockpit had really done some damage.We continued to pre-flight trying to find other damage and wondering what else could be wrong. About that time smoke started to come out from under the transponder knob and an electrical fire smell was present. The CA immediately shut off Battery power to aircraft and shut down the APU. That appeared to stop the smoke. We had everyone exit the aircraft and the CA and I made sure everything else was secure and there was no more fire. We then wrote everything we had discover in the log book and informed Maintenance of what was happening.The cockpit window being open during a major thunderstorm that allowed water to enter the cockpit and get the instruments wet. Windows/Doors...closed and Locked could be added to the Securing Aircraft checklist. This happens to be on the Before Starting Engines Checklist but not the Shut Down Checklist.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.