A fire overnight at the Sabena Technics hangar in Brussels national airport has destroyed four aircraft including a Belgian armed forces Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules and an Airbus A320 belonging to Amenian national carrier Armavia.
The fire started just after 00:00 and was brought under control by around 02:30, says Brussels International Airport (BIAC), the airport operator. The Sabena Technics hangar, around 1,000m2 (10,760ft2), reached temperatures of at least 100°C (212°F) buckling the all-metal structure, bringing the roof down, firefighters say. The fire continued to burn into the morning, authorities add. Firefighters say the priority was to avoid the fire spreading to the neighbouring hangar, owned by the Belgian branch of World of TUI, Jetairfly.
The following amateur photos show the firefighters bringing the blaze under control.
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One Sabena Technics employee was seriously injured and taken to hospital. A further four were treated for minor injuries.
BIAC says one C-130, operated by the Belgian military, was totally detroyed in the fire and Sabena Technics says the hangar also housed three other aircraft at the time of the blaze. Sabena Technics says one of the aircraft was an Airbus A320 operated by Armavia, which lost another of its aircraft this week in a fatal accident over the Black Sea.
Sabena confirms that other aircraft in the hangar were damaged, but are unable to give further details of the operator, type or extent of the damage.
The maintenance facility is rated to undertake C- and D-checks on Boeing 737 and 767s in addition to A320s and C-130s.
Air transport from Brussels was minorly disrupted, with delays of 15-20min in early flights.
Belgian armed force air command operates eleven C-130Hs.
Source: Flight International
