Off By A Year

Air Safety Week, March 21, 2005

Our report of an SAS MD-80 that diverted on Jan. 22 due to smoke and fire is in error (see ASW, Feb. 28). First, the event occurred in 2004, not 2005 (and in fact was not reported by this publication in 2004). Second, our report mentioned "fire" on board. The crew reported only "smoke and electrical smell." This was determined to be caused by an overheated ceiling light ballast - a common problem on MD-80 aircraft. It should be mentioned that smoke and smells from ballast cannot be disregarded by aircrews, as overheated ballast has caused fires, hence the diversionary landing.

The error is regretted; getting it wrong by a year is the first time it has happened in this publication.

[Copyright 2005 Access Intelligence, LLC. All rights reserved.]