Ophelia skaper problemer i Europa - Curt Lewis

 

Incident: Flybe E195 near Dublin on Oct 16th 2017, smell of smoke in cockpit due to atmospheric conditions, a number of flights affected

A Flybe Embraer ERJ-195, registration G-FBEM performing flight BE-4521 from Cardiff,WL (UK) to Dublin (Ireland), was enroute when the crew reported the smell of smoke in the cockpit. The crew decided to continue the flight to Dublin where the aircraft landed safely. Emergency services did not find any trace of fire, heat or smoke. National Air Traffic Services (NATS) reported they had to facilitate a number of diversions reporting smoke in the cockpit during the day. The observations were caused by atmospheric conditions with the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia reaching Ireland and affecting parts of Britain. Ophelia was carrying sand from the Sahara as well as smoke from forest fires in Spain and Portugal causing a strangely reddish sky over Britain. British weather services confirmed Ophelia had picked up sands from the Sahara and smoke from forest fires in Spain and Portugal before reaching Ireland and the UK. The return flight was cancelled. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Dublin about 14 hours after landing.