Incident at ST. JOHN'S INTL NL (CYYT) (Aerodrome, runway or taxiway shutdown)

2010-02-01: SPR03, Beech 200 departed St. John?s (CYYT) at 1610 UTC and shortly after departure declared an emergency and requested to return to CYYT. Pilot reported fire on board. Flight landed at 1618 UTC and had advised the tower that conditions were under control. The flight shut down after landing and exiting onto the threshold of Runway 16 making Runway 16 unavailable for landings or take offs. Passengers evacuated the aircraft as soon as the flight came to a stop. Aircraft towed off the runway at 1700 UTC. Runway 16 opened at 1702 UTC. TSB Case Closed

2010-02-03: UPDATE Commercial & Business Aviation: It appeared that there was smoke originating in one of the sensor operator workstations which ceased after the Captain pulled one of the circuit breakers. The aircraft is being inspected to determine the fault.

2010-02-12: UPDATE TSB: A10A0013: SPR03, a Provincial Airlines Beech 200 with five crew members on board, had departed St. John's NL for an aerial surveillance flight followed by a return to St. John's. Just after takeoff, the crew noted that there was smoke and flames coming from the audio panel above the observer's seat. The flight crew declared an emergency, selected the power for the survey equipment off, and pulled the circuit breaker for the audio system after which the smoke and fire dissipated. They deployed the oxygen masks and were given radar vectors for downwind for the departure runway. They acquired visual contact with the runway and landed safely without further incident with ARFF standing by. They shut down the aircraft on the runway and all occupants exited the aircraft uninjured. ARFF personnel inspected the aircraft after which it was towed to the operator's facility. The operator will be providing the TSB with further information. UPDATE - 4 February 2010: Maintenance inspection revealed that the fire originated from a fastener for the surveillance observer's audio close-out panel which was in contact with the wiring harness for the aircraft radiant heat system. The radiant heat system had been deactivated when the aircraft surveillance equipment was originally installed at which time the inboard section of the audio close-out panel had been mounted on a radiant heat panel. The aircraft surveillance equipment had recently been upgraded at which time the radiant heat panels were inadvertently reactivated. During the incident flight, the radiant heat was inadvertently selected on causing the fastener to short circuit the system. The fastener became heated sufficiently to burn the audio panel cover causing the fire. Shortly after, the left-hand radiant heat circuit breaker opened removing power from the left radiant heat system. The radiant heat system has since been deactivated in all of the operator's surveillance aircraft which involved opening and collaring the associated circuit breakers and placarding the cockpit switch "INOPERATIVE". The operator is in the process of permanently deactivating the radiant heat system in their surveillance aircraft. This involves removing the cockpit switch, circuit breakers, and the radiant heat panels. The aircraft was returned to service on the 2nd February.